Founded in 1966 by Captains James Tyrrell, Michael Tyrrell and Victor Hall with seven ships, today it operates 59 vessels.

[1][2] Arklow Shipping was reported to be a backer of Seaborne Freight which was awarded a British government contract, later rescinded, to run roll-on roll-off ferries between Ramsgate, England and Ostend, Belgium in 2019.

[3][4][5] Arklow Shipping said that it had been in talks with Seabourne Freight twice in 2018 but denied that there had been an agreement with Seaborne or the Department for Transport.

[5] The company had considered investing in Seaborne and providing a couple of ferries, but nothing was signed.

[5] When the company discovered that Seaborne had no port agreement in Ramsgate it decided not to go any further.