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Boluda to acquire Samskip: 'a combination to lead European shortsea shipping'

Boluda Shipping is to acquire Samskip, yet another sign of consolidation in the shortsea shipping scene, the deal intended to create a network spanning Northern Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, Canary Islands and West Africa. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is expected to complete on New Year's Day, with the combined company's 32 vessels offering more than 750,000 teu on 18 routes across 28 countries and 21 maritime terminals, as well as five rail terminals and more than 500 trucks. Ignacio Boluda Ceballos, chair of Boluda, said: "We have a clear vision: to lead European shortsea shipping and make our network a competitive advantage for the businesses that place their trust in us. "Bringing Samskip's network and expertise together with Boluda's maritime and logistics capabilities gives us the scale and opportunities to take that ambition further." Mr Ceballos added that the deal focused on expanding connectivity between Europe and West Africa. The companies believe their combined networks will provide greater connectivity and more comprehensive end-to-end logistics services, a multimodal approach, seen as offering a way for customers to reduce CO2 emissions. Samskip CEO Ólafur Orri Ólafsson said: "Samskip and Boluda are two family-owned companies with a long track-record in transport, shared values, and a long-term vision. That common ground gives us confidence in the opportunity ahead. "By bringing our complementary strengths together, we can expand what we offer our customers while building on the expertise, commitment and service they rely on every day," added Mr Orri Ólafsson, who will continue as CEO. Already running joint services in Spain, the two operators have identified opportunities to combine the network, but with Samskip based in Rotterdam and Boluda having added presence there, the Dutch gateway is set to become a strategic hub. Until the transaction closes, both companies will continue to operate independently. Boluda said it intended to invest in the combined network to increase capacity, expand connections, and support further growth. For Samskip, it is its second sale of the year, having begun 2026 by divesting its UK and Ireland activities to Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Navigation (CLdN), purportedly on the basis that it intended to focus on European and Nordic operations.

Newbuildings head for Asia-Latin America trades as volumes boom

Deliveries in the past week have been primarily deployed to services between the Far East and Latin America, highlighting growing volumes on these trades. Alphaliner noted that Imabari Shipbuilding completed the 13,932 teu ONE Symphony that will be deployed on ONE's Asia-WCSA AX3 service the pan-Japanese carrier runs jointly with MSC and Hapag-Lloyd. This is the 14th in a series of at least 15 vessels that various Imabari Group yards are building for ONE. Symphony will sail to Qingdao to commence operations. MSC took delivery of the 10,300 teu MSC Licia X from Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, and will assign the ship to its solo Far East-East Coast of South America Carioca loop that deploys a fleet of 15 ships of between 8,000 and 12,000 teu capacity. The new dual-fuel vessel is the sixth in a series of ten the yard is scheduled to deliver to MSC this year and next. MSC ordered the series in August 2023 for around $130m per unit. Zhoushan Changhong delivered the MSC Licia X 11 months ahead of schedule, illustrating the improving techniques of Chinese shipbuilding. Another Chinese firm New Times Shipbuilding, delivered the 8,454 teu CMA CGM Austral to Eastern Pacific Shipping. The ship is the last of four sisters New Times built for the Singapore-based non-operating shipowner. All four vessels are committed to long-term charters to CMA CGM, and CMA CGM Austral will serve the French line's Far East-Mexico M2X service. Finally, George Economou's TMS Group took delivery of the 7,900 teu Garnet from South Korea's HJ Shipbuilding & Construction. This is the second of four sisters commissioned in 2024 for $108m each, all for long-term charter to Zim. The Garnet will be assigned to the newly launched Far East-east coast South America ZFS service Zim runs with Hapag-Lloyd, part of a sustained shake-up of vessel sharing agreements on the Asia-South America trades, and features a port rotation of Shanghai-Ningbo-Xiamen-Hong Kong-Yantian-Rio Grande-Paranagua-Itajai-Santos-Rio de Janeiro. It turns in 77 days and will eventually deploy a fleet of 11 ships. So far, ZFS is served by vessels in the size range from 5,500 to 9,000 teu, with both carriers acting as vessel providers. Trade between China and South America has been growing in the past three years, with Container Trade Statistics registering 4% year-on-year growth, to 563,407 teu, in August. China exports machinery, electrical equipment, telecoms infrastructure, and electronics to South America, while importing vital agricultural and mining products.

News in Brief Podcast | Week 43 | Reliability, rates and port fee delay

How reliable is container shipping right now, and what are the biggest factors impacting on-time performance? This week on News in Brief, Xeneta Chief Analyst Peter Sand joins us to unpack the latest schedule reliability data, explore how different carrier alliance strategies are performing, and examine the ongoing impact of port congestion on capacity and sailing schedules. We also discuss the proposed delay to US port fees on China-linked vessels, what it means for shippers, and take a look at the latest rate trends as the market heads out of Golden week and towards the Thanksgiving and Christmas peak season.