CLdN is fully integrating Seatruck Ferries, acquired eighteen months ago, into its operations under the overall brand name CLdN RoRo. In doing so, CLdN closes ranks in the battle for the Irish Sea with Stena Line and Irish Ferries.
In autumn 2022, Belgian-Luxembourg group CLdN acquired British ro-ro operator Seatruck Ferries from Danish Clipper Group. That operated on the Irish Sea with a fleet of eight ships on connections between the England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The acquisition was in addition to developing its own services in the region.
A message appeared on Seatruck Ferries’ social media on Monday afternoon, 19 February, that as of noon, the full integration under the name CLdN RoRo was a reality. “Over the next few days, the rebranding will continue across all communication channels such as the website, social media and marketing materials.”
Vessels sold
The communication about the integration follows a long exercise to weave the operations and systems of CLdN and Seatruck Ferries into one. When it was acquired in September 2022, CLdN CEO Florent Maes said Seatruck Ferries was the leading ro-ro operator on the Irish Sea, with nearly 20% of ship freight volume.
Seatruck Ferries from northern England’s Heysham started in 1996 with one ship and experienced strong growth after its acquisition by Clipper Group in 2002. Twenty years later, it sailed on three routes between Liverpool and Heysham (England), Dublin (Ireland) and Warrenpoint (Northern Ireland). This was done with a fleet of eight ships, of which CLdN already sold two as part of its fleet renewal. In August 2023, the ‘Seatruck Pennant’ moved to Jordan and last week news leaked of the sale of the ‘Seatruck Panorama’ to Mexican shipping company Transportacion Maritima de California (TMC).
Liverpool-Dublin
Streamlining and strengthening the operations of the CLdN fleet is part of the major competition on the Irish Sea between CLdN and Stena Line. The big casualty was P&O Ferries (DP World) which discontinued its iconic Liverpool-Dublin route in late 2023, saying it had to abandon its berth and could not find a suitable new location.
CLdN and Stena Line eagerly dived into the gap and, among other things, recently started sharing the former P&O terminal in Dublin. For CLdN, this means additional space on top of its existing terminal with services to Zeebrugge, among others. CLdN was also given additional space in Liverpool. A new long-term agreement with port authority Peel Ports includes additional space for three hundred trailers. At the same time, an additional ship was added to the Dublin-Liverpool route, bringing the number of sailings to four daily in each direction. More than 70% of operations on the Irish Sea include unaccompanied cargo.
For 77 years
Competitor Stena Line launched a new service between Dublin and Birkenhead, across the River Mersey in Liverpool, in mid-February. At the same time, services from Heysham – coincidentally or not also the home base of Seatruck Ferries – were anchored. The commitment to Birkenhead and Heysham was enshrined in a contract with Peel Ports of no less than 77 years until 2100. Stena Line calls itself the largest operator on the Irish Sea, with the largest fleet, guaranteeing 238 crossings a week.
The third major player on the Irish Sea is Irish Ferries, with freight connections between Dublin and Rosslare on the one hand and Holyhead and Pembroke on the other.
