Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
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1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
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1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
20 April 2023
2.2. Metadata last posted
20 April 2023
2.3. Metadata last update
20 April 2023
3.1. Data description
Maritime transport data refer to gross weight of goods (in tonnes), passenger movements (in number of passengers) as well as for vessel traffic (in number of vessels and in gross tonnage of vessels).
3.2. Classification system
The following classifications are applicable:
Maritime Coastal area: the nomenclature is based on the Geonomenclature (the country nomenclature for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States, originally drawn up by the Council Regulation (EEC) N°1736/75) in force in the year to which the data refer (RAMON).
Ports: the codes used are the official UN/LOCODEs, when they exist. If a port does not have an official UN/LOCODE a provisional (numeric) code is attributed to the port. As soon as an official UN/LOCODE is attributed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to the port at the request of the competent national authority, the provisional (numeric) code is replaced by the final official one. In exceptional cases (see for example one-port transport or special aggregation for minor ports) permanent numeric codes are attributed to special locations or activities. The code list of UN/LOCODE is available by country through the following Unece website. According to the relevant directive, Eurostat draws up a list of ports, coded and classified according to countries and maritime coastal areas. The list of ports is included in implementing legal acts and as such is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (the "official" list). The most recent list of ports published in the Official Journal is found in Commission Decision (EU) 2018/1007
Nationality of registration of vessels: the nomenclature used is the Geo-nomenclature (the country nomenclature for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States, originally drawn up by the Council Regulation (EEC) N°1736/75) in force in the year to which the data refer (RAMON).
The type of ship classification is harmonised with an internationally agreed International Classification of Ship by Type (ICST).
Port -A place having facilities for merchant ships to moor and to load and/or unload cargo or to disembark and/or embark passengers to or from vessels, usually directly to a pier. Statistical Port/Reporting Port - "Reporting port" is a port for which statistics of inward and outward maritime transport flows are compiled. These ports are normally referred to as "statistical ports'. A statistical port consists of one or more ports, normally controlled by a single port authority able to record ship, passenger and cargo movements. Main port -A main port is a statistical port which has annual movements of no less than 200 000 passengers or recording more than one million tonnes of cargo. For ports selected on the basis of only one of these cargo or passenger criteria, detailed statistics are required only for that transport. Maritime coastal area (MCA) -A maritime coastal area is defined as a contiguous stretch of coastline, together with islands offshore. Within a country, an MCA is defined either in terms of one or more ranges of ports along its coastline, or in terms of the latitude and longitude of one or more sets of extremities of the coastal area. Riverbanks can be included. Normally the coastline of each country is allocated to a single maritime coastal area and the coastlines of more than one country may form a single maritime coastal area. There are some exceptions. For example, the USA is separated into a number of maritime coastal areas to cover its overall coastline. For some countries, two separate stretches of coastline may be counted as one maritime coastal area, as, for example, the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of Mexico. Carriage of goods and passengers by sea -The movement of goods and passengers using seagoing vessels, on voyage which are undertaken wholly or partly by sea. The scope of the Maritime Directive 2009/42/EC also includes goods:
Shipped to offshore installations;
Reclaimed from seabed and unloaded in ports.
Bunkers and stores supplied to vessels shall be excluded from the scope.
Seagoing vessel -Floating marine structure with one or more surface displacement hulls. In the context of the Directive, sea-going vessels are vessels other than those which navigate exclusively in inland waters or in waters within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or areas where port regulations apply. Nationality of registration of seagoing vessel (Flag state) -Every ship is entered in a registry (i.e. list) of ships. Registries are maintained by many countries, each having a set of rules regarding safety procedures, inspection schedules, manning numbers and nationalities for crew and officers, training requirements, etc. Ship-owners select which registry to use based on the balance between the relative cost implications of the rules of each registry and possible penalties from insurance assessments dependent on these rules. Type of cargo- The type of cargo classification, set according to the UNECE - Codes for types of cargo, packages and packaging materials, Recommendation 21, Geneva, March 1986, describes how the goods are being transported in terms of the vessels being used and the port facilities required to handle them. It is therefore very different from the categories of goods classification. Freight container-Special box to carry freight, strengthened and stackable and allowing horizontal or vertical transfers.
Swap bodies are excluded. Although without internal volume flats used in maritime transport should be considered to be a special type of container and therefore are included here. For a fuller description, reference should be made to ISO 668 and 1496.The related term "container cargo" refers to containers, with or without cargo, which are lifted on or off the vessels which carry them by sea.
Ro-Ro unit- This means wheeled equipment for carrying cargo, such as a truck, trailer or semi-trailer, which can be driven or towed onto a vessel. Port or ships' trailers are included in this definition. Classifications should follow United Nations ECE Recommendation No 21 'Codes for types of cargo, packages and packaging materials'. Live animals on the hoof are included. Vehicles being transported as cargo as opposed to a means of transport for freight are recorded in the separate headings of the Ro-Ro cargo classification, when they are rolled on or rolled off a vessel on their own wheels. Ro-Ro cargo -This means goods, whether or not in containers, on Ro-Ro units, and Ro-Ro units, which are rolled on and off the vessels, which carry them by sea. Gross weight of goods -The gross weight of each consignment is the weight of the actual goods together with the immediate packaging in which they are being transported from origin to destination, but excluding the tare weight of containers or Ro-Ro units (e.g. containers, swap bodies and pallets containing goods as well as road goods vehicles, wagons or barges carried on the vessel). This measure of quantity is different from that used in trade statistics, namely the net weight of goods and different from statistics collected on other transport modes where the tare weight is included. Where goods are transported in a road goods vehicle, in a container, or other intermodal transport unit, the gross weight of the goods does not include the tare weight of the transport unit. Gross tonnage -This means the measure of the overall size of a ship determined in accordance with the provisions of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969. Passenger Any person who makes a sea journey on a merchant ship. Service staff assigned to merchant ships is not regarded as passengers. Non-fare paying crewmembers travelling but not assigned and infants in arms are excluded. Cruise passenger -This means a sea passenger making a sea journey on a cruise ship. Passengers on day excursions are excluded. Cruise ship -This means a passenger ship intended to provide passengers with a full tourist experience. All passengers have cabins. Facilities for entertainment aboard are included. Ships operating normal ferry services are excluded, even if some passengers treat the service as a cruise. In addition, cargo-carrying vessels able to carry a very limited number of passengers with their own cabins are also excluded. Ships intended solely for day excursions are also excluded. Cruise passenger excursion -This means a short visit by a cruise passenger to a tourist attraction associated with a port while retaining a cabin on board.
3.5. Statistical unit
For ships entering and leaving ports, all loading and unloading of goods or entry and exit of Passengers who start or end their journey there.
3.6. Statistical population
Maritime traffic means all arrivals and departures of (seagoing) vessels in ports if the voyage takes place or has taken place wholly or partly at sea. The "sea" is used if the voyage does not take place exclusively on inland waterways (rivers and canals) as defined by the Federal Waterways Act. Vessels with a tonnage of at least 100 gross tonnage (GT) are covered. Fishing vessels and fish processing vessels, drilling and exploration vessels, tugs, push boats, dredgers, research/survey vessels, warships and vessels used exclusively for non-commercial purposes, bunkering, supply, repair, etc. are not included.
3.7. Reference area
Federal territory, federal states, coastal areas, NUTS 3 regions, ports.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data are available from reporting year 2002.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
The units used depend on the variables collected within each data set and are: gross weight of goods expressed in thousands of tonnes; number of passengers in thousands, number of vessels.
TEUs: Twenty feet equivalent units, expressed in units or in thousands depending on the table. TEU calculation coefficients:
20-ft freight units (1 TEU);
40-ft freight units (2 TEU);
Freight units over 20-ft and under 40-ft in length (1.5 TEU);
Freight units over 40-ft long (2.25 TEU).
Quarters for datasets A1, A2, C1, C2, D1, F1 and F2:
A1: Seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo and counterpart
A2: Non-unit-load seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo and counterpart
C1: Unit-load seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, counterpart and loaded status
C2: Ro-Ro container seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, counterpart and loaded status
D1: Passenger transport in the main European ports, by port, counterpart and nationality of registration of vessel
F1: Vessel traffic in the main European ports, by port, type and size of vessels loading or unloading cargo, embarking or disembarking passengers (including cruise passengers on a cruise passenger excursion)
F2: Vessel traffic in the main European ports, by port, type and size of vessels loading or unloading cargo, embarking or disembarking passengers (including cruise passengers on a cruise passenger excursion)
Whole calendar years for datasets A3, B1 and E1:
A3: Data required both for selected ports and ports for which detailed statistics are not required
B1: Seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, goods and counterpart
E1: Seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, counterpart and nationality of registration of vessels
The dissemination is based on the terms of Commission Decision 2001/423/EC on arrangements for publication or dissemination of the statistical data collected pursuant to Council Directive 95/64/EC on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods and passengers by sea.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
National Level:
Gesetz über die Statistik der See- und Binnenschifffahrt,des Güterkraftverkehrs, des Luftverkehrs sowie des Schienenverkehrs und des gewerblichen Straßen-Personenverkehrs (Verkehrsstatistikgesetz - VerkStatG).
Gesetz über die Statistik für Bundeszwecke (Bundesstatistikgesetz - BStatG).
The dissemination is based on the terms of Commission Decision 2001/423/EC on arrangements for publication or dissemination of the statistical data collected pursuant to Council Directive 95/64/EC on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods and passengers by sea.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
National level:
Gesetz über die Statistik der See- und Binnenschifffahrt, des Güterkraftverkehrs, des Luftverkehrs sowie des Schienenverkehrs und des gewerblichen Straßen-Personenverkehrs (Verkehrsstatistikgesetz -VerkStatG).
Pursuant to Section 28 (1) of the German Transport Statistics Act, the Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the federal states may transmit tables with statistical results from the surveys pursuant to Section 1 (1) to (12) of the German Transport Statistics Act to the supreme federal or state authorities for use vis-à-vis the legislative bodies and for planning purposes, but not for the purpose of regulating individual cases, even to the extent that table fields only show one single case. Pursuant to Section 29 (3) of the German Transport Statistics Act, the results of the survey may be published broken down by ports, even if they contain individual data if the name of the undertakings obliged to provide information is not published.
Gesetz über die Statistik für Bundeszwecke (Bundesstatistikgesetz - BStatG).
The individual information collected is generally kept secret in accordance with Section 16 BStatG. Individual data may only be transmitted in exceptional cases expressly regulated by law or if the respondents have consented. The transmission of individual data is generally permissible: public authorities and institutions within the statistical network which are entrusted with the implementation of federal or European statistics (e.g. the state statistical offices, the Bundesbank, the Statistical Office of the European Union [Eurostat]), Service providers with whom a contractual relationship exists (e.g. ITZBund, state data centres).
Pursuant to Section 16 (6) BStatG, it is permissible for universities or other institutions with the task of carrying out independent scientific research to be granted the right to transmit individual data if the individual data are anonymised in such a way that they can only be attributed to the respondents or persons concerned with a disproportionate expenditure of time, cost and labour (de facto anonymised individual data), grant access to individual data without name and address (formally anonymised individual data) within specially secured areas of the Federal Statistical Office and the state statistical offices if effective precautions are taken to maintain confidentiality.
European level:
Regulation (EC) N°223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
National Level: No regionally more detailed results are published than port results. A confidentiality procedure is therefore not necessary, since the results of the survey may be published according to §29 Abs. 3 VerkStatG by ports, also insofar as they contain individual details, if the name of the companies obliged to provide information is not published.
European Level: Article 4 of Commission Decision 2001/423/EC mention that: "the highest level of detail in which data may be published or disseminated is the level of port to and from maritime coastal area. The Commission may however publish at more aggregate level if the quality and/or completeness of information are not appropriate in such detail."
8.1. Release calendar
Typically, monthly results of maritime transport data are published about 2,5 months after the end of the reporting period.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not applicable.
8.3. Release policy - user access
Results of maritime transport statistics are available free of charge to all users.
More detailed results can be obtained with subscription.
More detailed user-specific data can be provided on request.
The data on maritime transport statistics is made available to all users at the same time.
Datasets A1, A2, C1, C2, D1, F1 and F2 are transmitted to Eurostat quarterly. Datasets A3, B1 and E1 are transmitted to Eurostat annually.
For the description of the data sets see 5. Reference Period.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Press releases are issued regularly for full-year results. There are also a number of additional press releases issued on special occasions. The press releases can be found on the NSI website.
Results of the monthly and annual statistics can be found in the "Genesis Online" database (GENESIS-Online Database; Tables No. 46331-0001 - 46331-0027). The results are available free for charge. Large tables can be retrieved by registered users only.
As part of the Federal Government's OpenData initiative, a modified version of the MT1 standard dataset is available for free download from the joint statistics portal (German) of the Federal Statistical Office and the Statistical Offices of the Länder. It provides easy access to highly structured results of maritime transport statistics. The data provided in CSV format can be flexibly evaluated and further processed.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
A standard-documentation with Meta information (definitions, comments, methods, quality) on maritime transport statistics is available at national level.
A standard-documentation withe Meta information (definitions, comments, methods, quality) on maritime transport statistics is available at national level.
For more information, see 10.6.
11.1. Quality assurance
The system follows as far as possible the European Statistics Code of practice and Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System. Moreover Destatis has introduced standard quality reports that are up to date for all statistics. The reports are based on the ESS definition of quality in statistics and follow the European standard quality report and provide users with information about the underlying concepts, definitions, methods used and the quality of the statistics (meta-information) in a standardised format.
Data quality can be assessed as high. There is a set of validation rules and quality checks put in place, which detect various types of issues. In case of any issues detected, the data providers are contacted to provide explanations or/and revise the data accordingly. Eurostat provides a data quality report with a summary of the main findings affecting quality as well as showing the solution adopted and the materiality of the existing differences. Mirror checks and checks for the consistency over times are prepared as well.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The main users of the statistics include shipping companies, port associations and ministries (Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport). The data are used by various institutions, for example, as a basis for decision-making on infrastructure and route planning.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Within the framework of an expert committee, users have the opportunity to bring their wishes and requirements to our attention.
12.3. Completeness
All data requested by Regulation 1090/2010 and Directive 2009/42/EC are transmitted.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Overall accuracy of the maritime transport statistics data is high. The processing with several plausibility checks as well as validating checks done before transmitting data to Eurostat provides a high accuracy of the data.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable for maritime transport data collection.
13.3. Non-sampling error
In principle, it can be assumed that every loading and unloading process in the ports is recorded, which completeness is given. The number of loading and unloading processes not recorded is likely to be negligible, as the ports have a great interest on their own, especially in terms of fees, in being able to carry out all activities in their area of register. There may be exceptions if the infrastructure of a port is not needed for cargo handling, if, for example, transshipment takes place directly from a sea to an inland vessel or vice versa. To check the completeness and quality of the individual data, the state statistical offices and the Federal Statistical Office carried out automatic plausibility checks, through which obvious inconsistencies can be recognized and corrected automatically or manually if necessary.
14.1. Timeliness
Quarterly data should be transmitted by Member States to Eurostat within five months of the end of the period of observation; annual data within eight months.
14.2. Punctuality
The deadlines for transmission are usually met.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
At EU-level comparability is obtained via the application of common concepts and validation rules. The harmonised interpretation of the methodology is enhanced by the organisation of regular meeting of the Working Group on Maritime Transport Statistics, where all reporting countries are represented at national level.
15.2. Comparability - over time
With the 2000 reference year, the methodology of maritime transport statistics has been fundamentally changed, in particular to meet the EU demand for comparable statistics in all member states. These changes concerned both, the definition of maritime transport and the omission or addition of characteristics. Detailed Information about the changes can be found in the article "The new maritime transport statistics" in "Economy and Statistics 9/2000". With the reporting year 2011, the classification of goods was changed to NST-2007. An exact comparability with previous years is not possible due to the coarser structure of the individual departments. With the reporting year 2019, the fluvio-maritime transport was removed from the maritime transport statistics and is now only included in the inland waterway statistics. Thus an addition of both shipping statistics is possible and double counting does not occur. The Federal Statistical Office also follows the European methodology.
In addition to the official maritime transport statistics, data on maritime transport are also collected and evaluated from many seaports. Differences in the results are due to different user requirements and methods:
The information provided by the ports often includes all goods movements on the port premises, including railroads to trucks or vice versa. In contrast, official maritime transport statistics only include data from goods that have been moved over "quayside", i.e. unloaded from or loaded onto a ship or which have been shipped from an inland vessel directly to an ocean-going vessel or vice versa.
When handling goods by sea, many ports include the tare weights of the load carriers (e.g. the weights of containers). In official maritime transport statistics, however, these dead weights are information on transport or handling quantities not taken into account, but reported for information purposes.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Internal statistical coherence is given.
In order to relieve the burden on the parties responsible for providing information, port authorities are often asked to provide the necessary data designated as transmitting agencies. The cost and burden related to the data collection is justified in relation to the benefits of the data collection.
17.1. Data revision - policy
There is generally no data revision.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Not applicable.
18.1. Source data
The information is provided by the parties responsible for providing information to the transmitting agencies or collected directly by them. Afterwards the information is forwarded to the State Statistical Offices, from these to the Federal Statistical Office.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Frequency of data collection is monthly
18.3. Data collection
Mainly the required information is recorded electronically by the port authorities. The data is then later directly from the operational accounting system of the port authorities to the State Statistical Offices.
18.4. Data validation
Plausibility-programs verifying the quality of the data are used by the State Statistical Offices and the Federal Statistical Office.
18.5. Data compilation
When preparing the data, additional estimation methods are used to determine the container contents. The reason for this is that the contents of the containers are often not known to the skippers who are obliged to provide information. The State Statistical Offices therefore determine the type of goods transported in containers partly by estimation procedure.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
No comments.
Maritime transport data refer to gross weight of goods (in tonnes), passenger movements (in number of passengers) as well as for vessel traffic (in number of vessels and in gross tonnage of vessels).
Port -A place having facilities for merchant ships to moor and to load and/or unload cargo or to disembark and/or embark passengers to or from vessels, usually directly to a pier. Statistical Port/Reporting Port - "Reporting port" is a port for which statistics of inward and outward maritime transport flows are compiled. These ports are normally referred to as "statistical ports'. A statistical port consists of one or more ports, normally controlled by a single port authority able to record ship, passenger and cargo movements. Main port -A main port is a statistical port which has annual movements of no less than 200 000 passengers or recording more than one million tonnes of cargo. For ports selected on the basis of only one of these cargo or passenger criteria, detailed statistics are required only for that transport. Maritime coastal area (MCA) -A maritime coastal area is defined as a contiguous stretch of coastline, together with islands offshore. Within a country, an MCA is defined either in terms of one or more ranges of ports along its coastline, or in terms of the latitude and longitude of one or more sets of extremities of the coastal area. Riverbanks can be included. Normally the coastline of each country is allocated to a single maritime coastal area and the coastlines of more than one country may form a single maritime coastal area. There are some exceptions. For example, the USA is separated into a number of maritime coastal areas to cover its overall coastline. For some countries, two separate stretches of coastline may be counted as one maritime coastal area, as, for example, the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of Mexico. Carriage of goods and passengers by sea -The movement of goods and passengers using seagoing vessels, on voyage which are undertaken wholly or partly by sea. The scope of the Maritime Directive 2009/42/EC also includes goods:
Shipped to offshore installations;
Reclaimed from seabed and unloaded in ports.
Bunkers and stores supplied to vessels shall be excluded from the scope.
Seagoing vessel -Floating marine structure with one or more surface displacement hulls. In the context of the Directive, sea-going vessels are vessels other than those which navigate exclusively in inland waters or in waters within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or areas where port regulations apply. Nationality of registration of seagoing vessel (Flag state) -Every ship is entered in a registry (i.e. list) of ships. Registries are maintained by many countries, each having a set of rules regarding safety procedures, inspection schedules, manning numbers and nationalities for crew and officers, training requirements, etc. Ship-owners select which registry to use based on the balance between the relative cost implications of the rules of each registry and possible penalties from insurance assessments dependent on these rules. Type of cargo- The type of cargo classification, set according to the UNECE - Codes for types of cargo, packages and packaging materials, Recommendation 21, Geneva, March 1986, describes how the goods are being transported in terms of the vessels being used and the port facilities required to handle them. It is therefore very different from the categories of goods classification. Freight container-Special box to carry freight, strengthened and stackable and allowing horizontal or vertical transfers.
Swap bodies are excluded. Although without internal volume flats used in maritime transport should be considered to be a special type of container and therefore are included here. For a fuller description, reference should be made to ISO 668 and 1496.The related term "container cargo" refers to containers, with or without cargo, which are lifted on or off the vessels which carry them by sea.
Ro-Ro unit- This means wheeled equipment for carrying cargo, such as a truck, trailer or semi-trailer, which can be driven or towed onto a vessel. Port or ships' trailers are included in this definition. Classifications should follow United Nations ECE Recommendation No 21 'Codes for types of cargo, packages and packaging materials'. Live animals on the hoof are included. Vehicles being transported as cargo as opposed to a means of transport for freight are recorded in the separate headings of the Ro-Ro cargo classification, when they are rolled on or rolled off a vessel on their own wheels. Ro-Ro cargo -This means goods, whether or not in containers, on Ro-Ro units, and Ro-Ro units, which are rolled on and off the vessels, which carry them by sea. Gross weight of goods -The gross weight of each consignment is the weight of the actual goods together with the immediate packaging in which they are being transported from origin to destination, but excluding the tare weight of containers or Ro-Ro units (e.g. containers, swap bodies and pallets containing goods as well as road goods vehicles, wagons or barges carried on the vessel). This measure of quantity is different from that used in trade statistics, namely the net weight of goods and different from statistics collected on other transport modes where the tare weight is included. Where goods are transported in a road goods vehicle, in a container, or other intermodal transport unit, the gross weight of the goods does not include the tare weight of the transport unit. Gross tonnage -This means the measure of the overall size of a ship determined in accordance with the provisions of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969. Passenger Any person who makes a sea journey on a merchant ship. Service staff assigned to merchant ships is not regarded as passengers. Non-fare paying crewmembers travelling but not assigned and infants in arms are excluded. Cruise passenger -This means a sea passenger making a sea journey on a cruise ship. Passengers on day excursions are excluded. Cruise ship -This means a passenger ship intended to provide passengers with a full tourist experience. All passengers have cabins. Facilities for entertainment aboard are included. Ships operating normal ferry services are excluded, even if some passengers treat the service as a cruise. In addition, cargo-carrying vessels able to carry a very limited number of passengers with their own cabins are also excluded. Ships intended solely for day excursions are also excluded. Cruise passenger excursion -This means a short visit by a cruise passenger to a tourist attraction associated with a port while retaining a cabin on board.
For ships entering and leaving ports, all loading and unloading of goods or entry and exit of Passengers who start or end their journey there.
Maritime traffic means all arrivals and departures of (seagoing) vessels in ports if the voyage takes place or has taken place wholly or partly at sea. The "sea" is used if the voyage does not take place exclusively on inland waterways (rivers and canals) as defined by the Federal Waterways Act. Vessels with a tonnage of at least 100 gross tonnage (GT) are covered. Fishing vessels and fish processing vessels, drilling and exploration vessels, tugs, push boats, dredgers, research/survey vessels, warships and vessels used exclusively for non-commercial purposes, bunkering, supply, repair, etc. are not included.
Federal territory, federal states, coastal areas, NUTS 3 regions, ports.
Quarters for datasets A1, A2, C1, C2, D1, F1 and F2:
A1: Seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo and counterpart
A2: Non-unit-load seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo and counterpart
C1: Unit-load seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, counterpart and loaded status
C2: Ro-Ro container seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, counterpart and loaded status
D1: Passenger transport in the main European ports, by port, counterpart and nationality of registration of vessel
F1: Vessel traffic in the main European ports, by port, type and size of vessels loading or unloading cargo, embarking or disembarking passengers (including cruise passengers on a cruise passenger excursion)
F2: Vessel traffic in the main European ports, by port, type and size of vessels loading or unloading cargo, embarking or disembarking passengers (including cruise passengers on a cruise passenger excursion)
Whole calendar years for datasets A3, B1 and E1:
A3: Data required both for selected ports and ports for which detailed statistics are not required
B1: Seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, goods and counterpart
E1: Seaborne transport in the main European ports, by port, type of cargo, counterpart and nationality of registration of vessels
The dissemination is based on the terms of Commission Decision 2001/423/EC on arrangements for publication or dissemination of the statistical data collected pursuant to Council Directive 95/64/EC on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods and passengers by sea.
Overall accuracy of the maritime transport statistics data is high. The processing with several plausibility checks as well as validating checks done before transmitting data to Eurostat provides a high accuracy of the data.
The units used depend on the variables collected within each data set and are: gross weight of goods expressed in thousands of tonnes; number of passengers in thousands, number of vessels.
TEUs: Twenty feet equivalent units, expressed in units or in thousands depending on the table. TEU calculation coefficients:
20-ft freight units (1 TEU);
40-ft freight units (2 TEU);
Freight units over 20-ft and under 40-ft in length (1.5 TEU);
Freight units over 40-ft long (2.25 TEU).
When preparing the data, additional estimation methods are used to determine the container contents. The reason for this is that the contents of the containers are often not known to the skippers who are obliged to provide information. The State Statistical Offices therefore determine the type of goods transported in containers partly by estimation procedure.
The information is provided by the parties responsible for providing information to the transmitting agencies or collected directly by them. Afterwards the information is forwarded to the State Statistical Offices, from these to the Federal Statistical Office.
Datasets A1, A2, C1, C2, D1, F1 and F2 are transmitted to Eurostat quarterly. Datasets A3, B1 and E1 are transmitted to Eurostat annually.
For the description of the data sets see 5. Reference Period.
Quarterly data should be transmitted by Member States to Eurostat within five months of the end of the period of observation; annual data within eight months.
At EU-level comparability is obtained via the application of common concepts and validation rules. The harmonised interpretation of the methodology is enhanced by the organisation of regular meeting of the Working Group on Maritime Transport Statistics, where all reporting countries are represented at national level.
With the 2000 reference year, the methodology of maritime transport statistics has been fundamentally changed, in particular to meet the EU demand for comparable statistics in all member states. These changes concerned both, the definition of maritime transport and the omission or addition of characteristics. Detailed Information about the changes can be found in the article "The new maritime transport statistics" in "Economy and Statistics 9/2000". With the reporting year 2011, the classification of goods was changed to NST-2007. An exact comparability with previous years is not possible due to the coarser structure of the individual departments. With the reporting year 2019, the fluvio-maritime transport was removed from the maritime transport statistics and is now only included in the inland waterway statistics. Thus an addition of both shipping statistics is possible and double counting does not occur. The Federal Statistical Office also follows the European methodology.
