Samskip will pursue competition case despite ownership change

Samskip will continue contesting a competition case against it after Spain’s Boluda Shipping takes over the company, CEO Ólafur Orri Ólafsson told mbl.is. The case will remain with Samskip under the law, he said.

“The company’s position has not changed. We will take the case all the way because the allegations are wrong in every respect,” Ólafsson said.

Iceland’s Competition Authority fined Samskip 4.2 billion krónur in 2023 over illegal collusion with Eimskip. The Competition Appeals Committee reduced the fine to 2.4 billion krónur in March 2025. The authority challenged that decision in court, seeking to restore the original fine.

Reykjavík District Court dismissed the case last March. The Court of Appeal overturned that decision in June and ruled that the case should proceed to a hearing on its merits.

Boluda Shipping agreed to buy all shares in Samskip, with the transaction expected to close on 1 January, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions. Long-time owners Ólafur Ólafsson and Ingibjörg Kristjánsdóttir will leave the ownership group, while Ólafur Orri Ólafsson will remain CEO.