Passenger and goods transport through ports increased last year

In international sea traffic, 10.7 million passengers used the services of Estonian ports. The number of passengers travelling between Estonia and Finland increased slightly, reaching 9 million. Between Estonia and Sweden, 1.1 million passengers were transported, i.e. 10% less compared to 2018. On international routes, over 2.1 million vehicles were served by ports; 71% were passenger cars and 26% were trucks and trailers. During the cruise season, 676,400 cruise passengers arrived in Estonia, i.e. 4% more than the year before.

On main national ship lines, around 2.6 million passengers were transported, i.e. 104,500 passengers more than in 2018. There were 16,700 trips made and 1.1 million vehicles served, i.e. over 50,900 more vehicles than in 2018. Of the served vehicles, 71% were passenger cars and almost a fourth were trucks and trailers.

Estonian ports handled 37.6 million tonnes of cargo, which is 1.8 million tonnes more than the year before. 25.3 million tonnes of goods were loaded and 12.3 million tonnes unloaded. The volume of transit goods in Estonian ports was 20.2 million tonnes, i.e. 6% more compared to the previous year. 14.6 million tonnes of transit cargo was loaded and 5.6 million tonnes unloaded. 10.7 million tonnes of goods were exported through ports and 6.6 million tonnes of goods were imported.

Sea container transportation through ports was similar to the previous year, amounting to 242,060 TEUs in 2019. The number of containers shipped out of Estonian ports was over 120,855 TEUs, and the number received was 121,205 TEUs.

According to the Estonian Maritime Information System, 11,434 ships arrived from foreign ports. The majority were general cargo non-specialised ships (including ro-ro passenger ships), totalling 9,297. Also, 991 liquid bulk carriers, 263 container ships, 175 dry bulk carriers, 116 specialised carriers and 334 cruise ships arrived in Estonian ports.

TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) – the standard unit for counting containers of various capacities and for describing the capacities of container ships or terminals. One twenty-foot ISO container equals 1 TEU.

The statistics are based on data collected by quarterly questionnaires "Maritime transport", "International passenger traffic through the ports" and "Freight transport through the ports“ and electronic information system (EMDE) data. Statistics Estonia performs the statistical activities on transport for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.