CLdN Expands from Shortsea RoRo to Seize Opportunity in LoLo Ops

CLdN long known as a leader in Europe’s shortsea segment sees an emerging opportunity in the load-on / load-off (LoLo) container business. The company is moving aggressively to develop the market ordering the construction of 10 vessels just months after launching its first LoLo offering.

According to the company, featuring a short lead time and a high-frequency product is unique in the current shortsea container market, which is currently dominated by deep-sea feeder carriers offering longer lead times and less frequent services. They decided to branch out into the LoLo segment which management believes is highly complementary to CLdN’s short-sea RoRo services. They highlight the opportunity to provide excellent operational flexibility, quick turnaround times in port, and optimal sailing frequency for customers.

The company confirmed the order for 10 newbuild vessels with delivery from January 2027 to be built by HD Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan, South Korea. CLdN has a long-standing relationship with Hyundai and is currently completing the construction of two 8,000-lane meter G9e RoRo vessels which are scheduled for delivery to CLdN in the first half of 2025.  

The newbuild ships will have a cargo capacity of 1,100 TEU. The company reports the design will have outstanding fuel efficiency and an innovative open-top design to allow reduced port handling times.   

“This order is an important step towards realizing our longer-term growth ambitions and cementing CLdN’s position as a leader in the unaccompanied short-sea freight market in Europe,” said Florent Maes, CEO of CLdN. He called the ordering of its own container carrier fleet a decisive step by CLdN in branching out into the LoLo segment.   The ships, Maes says, will complement CLdN’s fleet of more than thirty roll-on / roll-off (RoRo) vessels. 

Earlier this year, CLdN introduced a LoLo offering on its Ireland service using chartered vessels operating from its recently acquired Distriport terminal in Rotterdam. The company reports it has been well received by customers and as such they recently expanded the operation with the addition of a third weekly direct sailing between Rotterdam Distriport and Dublin. 

CLdN highlights that it is now offering three direct LoLo as well as three direct RoRo departures per week from both Rotterdam and Dublin. The expansion of the LoLo offering at the end of August brought to 22 the number of weekly sailings between Ireland and CLdN’s main continental hubs of Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.