Boluda Shipping agrees to buy all shares in Samskip
Wednesday 28th October 2026 on 18:15 in
Iceland
Spanish shipping company Boluda Shipping has agreed to buy all shares in Icelandic transport company Samskip, mbl.is reports. The deal is expected to close on 1 January 2027, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions. The purchase price is confidential.
Samskip’s principal owners, Ólafur Ólafsson and Ingibjörg Kristjánsdóttir, will leave the ownership group. The new owners plan to strengthen Samskip’s operations in Iceland and add connections to international markets.
The companies say the deal will bring together Samskip’s transport network in northern Europe and the North Atlantic with Boluda’s shipping routes in southern Europe, the Canary Islands and west Africa. They aim to create a European network combining sea, rail and road transport.
Samskip’s Icelandic operations will remain an important part of the combined company, according to the announcement. The new owners intend to invest in the network, increase transport capacity and add connections. Ólafur Orri Ólafsson will remain chief executive of the Samskip group and help integrate the businesses.
Samskip operates weekly sailings from Reykjavík to Europe, calling at Vestmannaeyjar and the Faroe Islands. Its coastal shipping routes also connect Ísafjörður, Sauðárkrókur and Akureyri with international markets.
The companies have combined annual revenue of more than €2 billion and employ about 11,500 people, according to the announcement. The combined business is set to operate 32 ships on 18 routes, have access to 21 berths and use more than 500 trucks. Its network will extend across 28 countries, with plans for transport links from west Africa and the Canary Islands through Europe and across the Atlantic to Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Boluda dates back to 1837 and has grown from local port operations into an international group working in shipping, tug services and port operations. Its chairman, Ignacio Boluda Ceballos, said the acquisition would strengthen the company’s position in European shipping.
In February, Samskip agreed to sell its container shipping and transport services between mainland Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland to Belgian transport company CLdN. That agreement covered specified parts of Samskip’s business in those markets.