Compagnie Luxembourgouise de Navigation (CLdN) has announced the launch of a new container route between the Port of Cork and Rotterdam that is to start this month.

Operating the route is CLdN Ro Ro S.A., which is chartering two 962 TEU lift-on/llift-off (LoLo) cargo vessels, the M/V Pavo J and MV Andromeda J, that will ship containers between Rotterdam (where CLdN recently acquired the Distriport terminal) Dublin and Cork.

The introduction of the new LoLo services will also enable an optimization of CLdN’s roll-on and roll-off (RoRo) fleet deployment, thereby increasing capacity on the routes between Rotterdam and the UK.

The addition of the new services responds to high levels of customer demand to move freight between Ireland and mainland Europe. The two additional weekly LoLo sailings complement the three RoRo sailings operated by CLdN each week to and from Dublin. These RoRo services will continue to operate from CLdN’s RoRo terminal in Rotterdam.

The LoLo service to Cork complements the existing RoRo service opened in 2020 by CLdN from its Zeebrugge terminal. The new services will be operational as of the week commencing March 18.

CLdN has grown its presence on the Irish trades significantly since the inception of its first cargo service to Ireland in 1999, with the most recent expansion being announced in December last year when an additional 3.5 hectares of terminal area were added in Dublin.

Today, CLdN ships some 500,000 cargo units a year to and from Ireland, making it the largest mover of ferry freight between Ireland, mainland Europe, and Great Britain. Following the addition of the new lines, CLdN will operate the following Irish services in each direction every week:

Rotterdam ⟷ Dublin: 5 sailings

Rotterdam ⟷ Cork: 1 sailing 

Zeebrugge ⟷ Dublin: 2 sailings

Zeebrugge ⟷ Cork: 2 sailings

Santander ⟷ Dublin: 2 sailings

Liverpool ⟷ Dublin: 60 sailings

Heysham ⟷ Dublin: 6 sailings

In addition to the above direct sailings, CLdN offers extensive transhipment possibilities to the East Coast of England (London, Killingholme, and Teesport), Spain, Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden.

CLdN Ro Ro also operates 11 weekly sailings between Heysham and Warrenpoint, which Afloat.ie highlights were originally part of the network of Irish Sea routes run by Seatruck Ferries, which CLdN acquired in 2022, along with the Dublin-Liverpool/Heysham routes. The brand Seatruck has recently been discontinued, marking the end of an era of the company, whose origins began in 1996.

Commenting on the additional capacity, Florent Maes, CEO of CLdN, said: “The addition of these services is a direct benefit of the recent Distriport acquisition and an example of CLdN’s ability to find innovative and timely solutions for its customers.

The trade flows between Ireland and mainland Europe are significant, and CLdN is pleased to be able to further expand its offering in this area.