Angry truckers are accusing a shipping company of price-gouging after it doubled charges for some loads on the Irish Sea after damage inflicted by Storm Darragh last month closed the Welsh port, adding to pressure on other routes between Britain and Ireland. Luxembourg-based shipping group CLDN told hauliers days ago it would require a surcharge of twice the normal booking rate for any loads above a company’s “usual allocations”.
A note from company staff to hauliers acknowledges that customers “would be frustrated”, but says that CLDN expects this to last only a short time.The association wrote this week to James Lawless, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, asking the Government to ensure that CLDN cease “these exploitative practices”.According to Mr Hyland, Holyhead’s closure has left hauliers relying heavily on CLDN, which sails from Dublin and Warrenpoint, Co Down, to Liverpool and Heysham in England. Pamela Dennison, policy support officer with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) in Northern Ireland, confirmed that the move had alarmed the organisation’s members. “Haulage is the backbone of trade between Northern Ireland, the Republic and Great Britain – we need to ensure freight is given the priority it needs,” she said.The RHA points out in a circular to members that CLDN – formerly known as Seatruck – has a dominant position on routes between Northern Ireland and Britain. CLDN’s note tells hauliers that it has recalibrated allocations to reflect averages from the last six months. According to Mr Hyland, this has led to situations where members are paying the surcharge even where the number of slots they have booked aboard CLDN’s vessels are in line with normal booking