Somaloir was founded in 1976 and is a limited company with share capital of €100K. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Balguerie group, a maritime group represented in all main French ports and airports.

The main business of Somaloir and its subsidiary Manocean, installed at the Roll-on/Roll-off terminal in Montoir in France's Loire Atlantique department (Brittany), is hiring ships, acting as an agent for regular shipping lines, commissioning international transport, and dockside handling.