News / CLdN orders 10 new ships to boost European shortsea box fleet

Photo: CLdN

Luxembourg-based ro-ro operator CLdN is diversifying into a niche container segment with an order for ten 1,100 teu lo-lo newbuilds at HD Hyundai Mipo dockyard.

A CLdN spokesperson told The Loadstar that the vessels are distinguished from normal container feeders by being more flexible – able to accept 45ft containers as well as trailers and the having the ability to be unloaded without STS cranes.

Set to begin delivering from 2027, the vessels are expected to free-up additional capacity in CLdN’s ro-ro fleet for more trailers and high-and-heavy loads, the CLdN spokesperson added.

CLdN already operates one lo-lo service, running between Rotterdam Distriport and Dublin.

CldN is eager to disrupt a container market which, it said, was “currently dominated by deepsea feeder carriers offering longer lead times and less-frequent services,” said the company last week.

“This short lead time and high frequency product is unique in the current shortsea container market,” it added.

“This order is an important step towards realising our longer-term growth ambitions and cementing CLdN’s position as a leader in the unaccompanied short-sea freight market in Europe,” said CEO Florent Maes.

“Our recent entry into the lo-lo segment, facilitated by the acquisition of the Distriport terminal in Rotterdam earlier in the year, has been very well received by customers and is proving highly complementary to our ro-ro services.”

The Distriport terminal (pictured above) acquisition was from Dutch group Broekman Logistics, which has undergone a strategic refocus on project cargo verticals. The terminal is able to serve both container and ro-ro vessels.

“It will enable us to build on our own network of services in and out of Rotterdam and to provide additional benefits for existing and new customers,” Mr Maes said at the time.

In March, CLdN launched its first container service between Rotterdam and Dublin, charting two 962 teu feeders, Andromeda J and Pavo J, which, according to vesselvalues.com, were fixed at a daily hire rate of $9,250.

After delivery, the addition of some 11,000 teu of vessel capacity will catapult CLdN up the league of European shortsea and feeder operators, then having a box fleet size comparable with Icelandic carrier Samskip, according to Alphaliner data.