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
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1.7. Contact phone number
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1.8. Contact fax number
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2.1. Metadata last certified
31 October 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
3 November 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
3 November 2025
3.1. Data description
Maritime transport data refer to gross weight of goods (in tonnes), passenger movements (in number of passengers), as well as to 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, based on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1470 of 12 October 2020 in force in the year to which the data refer (GENOM).
Ports: The codes used are the official UN/LOCODEs, when they exist. If a port does not have an official UN/LOCODE, a code found to be used unofficially is attributed to the port. 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 on the 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 is based on the Geonomenclature: the country nomenclature for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States, based on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1470 of 12 October 2020 in force in the year to which the data refer (GENOM).
The type of ship classification is harmonised with an internationally agreed International Classification of Ship by Type (ICST).
The type of cargo classification, available in Directive 2009/42/EC, has been established in conformity with the United Nations ECE Recommendation No 21.
Standard goods classification for transport statistics: the classification used is based on the Standard goods classification for transport statistics 2007 (NST 2007) - is a statistical nomenclature for the goods transported by four modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways and sea, that takes account of the economic activity from which the goods originate.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Maritime transport is the carriage of goods and passengers by seagoing vessels, on voyages undertaken wholly or partly at sea.
The data collected are port statistics: information on goods handled in ports, passengers embarked and disembarked, and vessel traffic. Detailed information is collected on the type of cargo and passengers, geographical areas where the partner ports are located, and the type, size and nationality of ships used to carry out that transportation.
Detailed information is collected from main ports – ports handling more than one million tonnes of goods annually or recording more than 200,000 passenger movements annually, as well as those that have exceeded this threshold in the last three years.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The main concepts used in this domain are the following:
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 – A statistical port consists of one or more ports, normally controlled by a single port authority, which is able to record ship, passenger, and cargo movements. Reporting port – A statistical port for which statistics of inward and outward maritime transport flows are compiled. Main port – A statistical port handling more than one million tonnes of goods or 200,000 passengers annually. 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 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 voyages which are undertaken wholly or partly at 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 are excluded from the scope.
Seagoing vessel – A floating marine structure with one or more surface displacement hulls. In the context of the Directive, seagoing 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. Shipowners 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 – A 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 – 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 – 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 – A 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 making a sea journey on a merchant ship. Service staff assigned to merchant ships is not regarded as passengers. Non-fare paying crew members travelling but not assigned and infants in arms are excluded. Cruise passenger – A sea passenger making a sea journey on a cruise ship. Passengers on day excursions are excluded. Cruise ship – 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 excluded as well. Cruise passenger excursion – 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
The data used in the domain are collected at port level. Some of the ports are statistical ports (with UN/LOCODE EETLL, EEBEK) and an aggregate EE888 is used for several non-main ports, for Table A3. The data on the passenger transport happening in these ports, as well as on the main ports on national passenger traffic, were collected based on regular line passenger totals and not ports. The full lists of ports reported under EE888:
EE888 Goods: EERNG EELSA EERHK EERMS EEHLT EEVIR. Only goods not in vehicles. No data on goods in vehicles.
Detailed data are provided for ports handling more than one million tonnes of goods or 200,000 passengers annually (main ports) based on data from the past three years.
On the other ports, summary data are compiled (annual data). Data on some minor ports that have been important ports in the past are given separately and not summarised under EE888.
3.7. Reference area
Seaports located on the territory of Estonia
3.8. Coverage - Time
Annual data on carriage of goods and passengers by sea have been reported starting from 2001, quarterly data from 2002, including statistical ports EETLL, EEKND, EESLM, EEPRN, EEVEB.
EEBEK Bekkeri Port included from 2021 and EEPLN Northern Port of Paldiski from 2015. These two ports have been excluded from the 2024 detailed data collection based on lower goods flow in the previous three years.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable
The units used depend on the variables collected within each data set. The units 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, and F2 Whole calendar years for datasets A3, B1, and E1
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
National level:
Official Statistics Act. Passed 10 June 2010. RT I 2010, 41, 241. Entry into force 1 August 2010.
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.
Official Statistics Act. Passed 10 June 2010. RT I 2010, 41, 241. Entry into force 1 August 2010. The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in §§ 32, 34, 35, and 38 of the Official Statistics Act.
European level:
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009, Article 20(4) stipulates an obligation for the NSIs and Eurostat to take all necessary regulatory, administrative, technical, and organisational measures to ensure the physical and logical protection of confidential data (statistical disclosure control).
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Article 4 of Commission Decision 2001/423/EC states 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."
Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on the website. Every year on 1 October, the release times of the statistical database, news releases, main indicators by IMF SDDS, and publications for the following year are announced in the release calendar.
8.2. Release calendar access
For more information, see the Calendar section on Statistics Estonia's website.
8.3. Release policy - user access
All users have been granted equal access to official statistics: dissemination dates of official statistics are announced in advance and no user category (incl. Eurostat, state authorities, and mass media) is provided access to official statistics before other users. Official statistics are first published in the statistical database. Official statistics are available on the website at 8.00 a.m. on the date announced in the release calendar.
Quarterly maritime transport statistics are published within 4 months after the reference period at national level.
Quarterly maritime transport statistics are published within 10 months after the reference period and annual maritime transport statistics within 16 months after the reference period at EU level.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
No news releases have been published.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Irregular blog posts may be published, no other publications are released.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
Data are published in thestatistical database under the subject area “Economy / Transport.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in §§ 33, 34, 35, 36, and 38 of the Official Statistics Act. Access to microdata and anonymisation of microdata are regulated by Statistics Estonia's procedure for dissemination of confidential data for scientific purposes. For maritime statistics data, this has not yet been done.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
None currently
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Dedicated metadata (definitions, comments, methods, quality) on maritime transport statistics are available at national level.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Dedicated metadata (definitions, comments, methods, quality) on maritime transport statistics are available at national level.
11.1. Quality assurance
To assure the quality of processes and products, Statistics Estonia applies the EFQM Excellence Model, the European Statistics Code of Practice, and the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF). Statistics Estonia is also guided by the requirements in § 7 "Principles and quality criteria of producing official statistics" of the Official Statistics Act.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Statistics Estonia performs all statistical activities according to an international model (Generic Statistical Business Process Model – GSBPM). According to the GSBPM, the final phase of statistical activities is overall evaluation using information gathered in each phase or sub-process; this information can take many forms, including feedback from users, process metadata, system metrics, and suggestions from employees. This information is used to prepare the evaluation report, which outlines all the quality issues related to the specific statistical activity and serves as input for improvement actions.
Implementation and compliance with the SDMX standards:
Data are transmitted to Eurostat in either SDMX or CSV format.
SDMX standard is not used for data exchanges with data providers (ports).
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Ministry of Climate
Transport Administration
We regularly collect feedback from users about the kind of information the society needs. The main users of statistics are public authorities, industry associations, research and educational institutions, and local government associations.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Since 1996, Statistics Estonia has conducted reputation and user satisfaction surveys.
12.3. Completeness
In compliance with the rules (regulations). The data collection on maritime transport statistics follows the provisions of Directive 2009/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods and passengers by sea (Recast).
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The type of survey and the data collection methods ensure sufficient coverage and timeliness. Several checks carried out during data processing as well as before transmitting data to Eurostat ensure high accuracy of the data.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable for maritime transport data collection
13.3. Non-sampling error
Data editing and coding errors, logical errors, which do not occur much. The main ones are coding errors.
For port EERHK, the D1 and F1 data on the ferry line to EESVI was added only from 2024 Q3. The previous years' data only includes estimated data for the EERHK-EEHLT line.
14.1. Timeliness
Member States should transmit quarterly data to Eurostat within five months of the end of the observation period; annual data within eight months. The Commission (Eurostat) shall disseminate appropriate statistical data with a periodicity comparable to that of the results transmitted (Directive 2009/42/EC).
14.2. Punctuality
All the statistics required by the provisions of the legal acts on maritime transport statistics are available one month before the deadline for the data provisions set up in the legal act.
Quarterly data are transmitted to Eurostat within five months of the end of the observation period, within four months if possible. Annual data are transmitted within eight months of the end of the observation period, within six months if possible.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The data are comparable with the data other European Union countries because a common methodology has been used for transport statistics.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The data are comparable over time because a common methodology has been used.
The detailed information on eventual breaks in the time series is provided in the Country Specific Notes (CSNs) available on Eurostat’s metadata page (in the Annex).
Some ports may fall out of the survey over time and some may be added depending on the cargo or passenger traffic volumes of the port (according to the rules based on the results of the previous three years).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Comparisons with other transport statistics are only partially and to a limited extent possible with regard to freight transport and passenger transport since data are currently not available or are not collected at the same level of detail, and also due to different methods and underlying objectives.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The data are made internally coherent by using a common methodology in data collection and by applying the same rules of data aggregation.
Some ports may fall out of the survey over time and some may be added depending on the cargo or passenger traffic volumes of the port (according to the rules based on the results of the previous three years).
The response burden put on the ports is reduced to a minimum. It is possible to provide the data automatically using an electronic data transmission tool (eSTAT) and ports are only contacted if errors cannot be solved by the NSI. As data are collected by individual port visits, the amount of data is large, so it is possible to upload data as a file or transfer the data to Statistics Estonia via eSTAT.
Average time of filling in the reports, hours per report: quarterly questionnaires "Shipping traffic" – 3.6, "International passenger transport through ports" – 0.2, "Carriage of goods through ports" – 2.6, and "Seaborne transport" – 0.2 (data for 2024).
17.1. Data revision - policy
The data revision policy and notification of corrections are described in Statistics Estonia's dissemination policy in the Official Statistics Act.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The published data may be revised if the methodology is modified, errors are discovered, new or better data become available within a year from the end of the reference period.
18.1. Source data
SURVEY DATA: The population is five seaports and for national passenger transport one sea transport enterprise (large national lines). Census has been used. There was a separate census for sea transport enterprises servicing national ports.
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA: EMDE (Estonian Maritime Documents Exchange) MSW data on ship visits are published in Statistics Estonia's statistical database but not used for dataset F2.
Seaports are the source of the following information: carriage of goods by vessels and passenger transport by vessels.
Carriage of goods by vessels – time of departure/arrival of the vessel; quarter; reporting port; direction; port of loading/unloading; maritime coastal area; type of cargo; group of goods; flag state; type of vessel; vessel size class; quantity of loaded/unloaded goods; quantity of transit goods; number of containers and roll-on/roll-off units: full and empty; number of containers and roll-on/roll-off units: empty; gross tonnage of vessel; IMO number of vessel Passenger transport by vessels – time of departure/arrival of the vessel; quarter; reporting port; direction; port of embarking/disembarking; maritime coastal area; flag state; type of vessel; vessel size class; number of outward/inward passengers; number of cruise passengers; number of cruise passengers starting/finishing their voyage; gross tonnage of vessel; IMO number of vessel
Sea transport enterprise data on national passenger transport by main national routes: number of maritime transport journeys; number of maritime transport passengers; passenger turnover of maritime transport
All data are transmitted quarterly to CNA.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Information needed for the quarterly datasets A1, A2, C1, D1, and F2, and for the annual datasets A3, B1, and E1 were collected quarterly. Annual data are summed up on the basis of quarterly data. Various survey reports of ports and sea transport enterprises (for national passenger traffic) have been used.
18.3. Data collection
Data are collected and the submission of questionnaires is monitored through eSTAT (the web channel for electronic data submission). The questionnaires have been designed for independent completion in eSTAT and include instructions and checks. The questionnaires and information about data submission are available on Statistics Estonia’s website in the section About data submission. Data are collected with the official statistics quarterly questionnaires "Shipping traffic", "International passenger transport through ports", "Carriage of goods through ports", and "Seaborne transport".
18.4. Data validation
Arithmetic and qualitative controls are used in the validation process, including comparison with the data of previous periods and other surveys.
There are main validation rules implemented into VAIS toolbox. After validating the data, the necessary corrections are made manually or automatically. If needed, the data providers are involved in the data correction process.
18.5. Data compilation
In the case of missing or unreliable data, estimate imputation based on established regulations is used.
Variables and statistical units which were not collected but which are necessary for producing the output are calculated. New variables are calculated by applying arithmetic conversion to already existing variables. This may be done repeatedly, the derived variable may, in turn, be based on previously derived new variables.
Microdata are aggregated to the level necessary for analysis. This includes aggregating the data according to the classification, and calculating various statistical measures.
The collected data are converted into statistical output. This includes calculating additional indicators.
After various plausibility checks, the data received from the data providers are compiled into quarterly data following the structure of the datasets which are preset by legal acts for maritime transport statistics.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable for maritime transport data collection
Not applicable
Maritime transport data refer to gross weight of goods (in tonnes), passenger movements (in number of passengers), as well as to vessel traffic (in number of vessels and in gross tonnage of vessels).
3 November 2025
The main concepts used in this domain are the following:
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 – A statistical port consists of one or more ports, normally controlled by a single port authority, which is able to record ship, passenger, and cargo movements. Reporting port – A statistical port for which statistics of inward and outward maritime transport flows are compiled. Main port – A statistical port handling more than one million tonnes of goods or 200,000 passengers annually. 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 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 voyages which are undertaken wholly or partly at 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 are excluded from the scope.
Seagoing vessel – A floating marine structure with one or more surface displacement hulls. In the context of the Directive, seagoing 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. Shipowners 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 – A 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 – 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 – 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 – A 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 making a sea journey on a merchant ship. Service staff assigned to merchant ships is not regarded as passengers. Non-fare paying crew members travelling but not assigned and infants in arms are excluded. Cruise passenger – A sea passenger making a sea journey on a cruise ship. Passengers on day excursions are excluded. Cruise ship – 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 excluded as well. Cruise passenger excursion – A short visit by a cruise passenger to a tourist attraction associated with a port while retaining a cabin on board.
The data used in the domain are collected at port level. Some of the ports are statistical ports (with UN/LOCODE EETLL, EEBEK) and an aggregate EE888 is used for several non-main ports, for Table A3. The data on the passenger transport happening in these ports, as well as on the main ports on national passenger traffic, were collected based on regular line passenger totals and not ports. The full lists of ports reported under EE888:
EE888 Goods: EERNG EELSA EERHK EERMS EEHLT EEVIR. Only goods not in vehicles. No data on goods in vehicles.
Detailed data are provided for ports handling more than one million tonnes of goods or 200,000 passengers annually (main ports) based on data from the past three years.
On the other ports, summary data are compiled (annual data). Data on some minor ports that have been important ports in the past are given separately and not summarised under EE888.
Seaports located on the territory of Estonia
Quarters for datasets A1, A2, C1, C2, D1, and F2 Whole calendar years for datasets A3, B1, and E1
The type of survey and the data collection methods ensure sufficient coverage and timeliness. Several checks carried out during data processing as well as before transmitting data to Eurostat ensure high accuracy of the data.
The units used depend on the variables collected within each data set. The units 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).
In the case of missing or unreliable data, estimate imputation based on established regulations is used.
Variables and statistical units which were not collected but which are necessary for producing the output are calculated. New variables are calculated by applying arithmetic conversion to already existing variables. This may be done repeatedly, the derived variable may, in turn, be based on previously derived new variables.
Microdata are aggregated to the level necessary for analysis. This includes aggregating the data according to the classification, and calculating various statistical measures.
The collected data are converted into statistical output. This includes calculating additional indicators.
After various plausibility checks, the data received from the data providers are compiled into quarterly data following the structure of the datasets which are preset by legal acts for maritime transport statistics.
SURVEY DATA: The population is five seaports and for national passenger transport one sea transport enterprise (large national lines). Census has been used. There was a separate census for sea transport enterprises servicing national ports.
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA: EMDE (Estonian Maritime Documents Exchange) MSW data on ship visits are published in Statistics Estonia's statistical database but not used for dataset F2.
Seaports are the source of the following information: carriage of goods by vessels and passenger transport by vessels.
Carriage of goods by vessels – time of departure/arrival of the vessel; quarter; reporting port; direction; port of loading/unloading; maritime coastal area; type of cargo; group of goods; flag state; type of vessel; vessel size class; quantity of loaded/unloaded goods; quantity of transit goods; number of containers and roll-on/roll-off units: full and empty; number of containers and roll-on/roll-off units: empty; gross tonnage of vessel; IMO number of vessel Passenger transport by vessels – time of departure/arrival of the vessel; quarter; reporting port; direction; port of embarking/disembarking; maritime coastal area; flag state; type of vessel; vessel size class; number of outward/inward passengers; number of cruise passengers; number of cruise passengers starting/finishing their voyage; gross tonnage of vessel; IMO number of vessel
Sea transport enterprise data on national passenger transport by main national routes: number of maritime transport journeys; number of maritime transport passengers; passenger turnover of maritime transport
All data are transmitted quarterly to CNA.
Quarterly maritime transport statistics are published within 4 months after the reference period at national level.
Quarterly maritime transport statistics are published within 10 months after the reference period and annual maritime transport statistics within 16 months after the reference period at EU level.
Member States should transmit quarterly data to Eurostat within five months of the end of the observation period; annual data within eight months. The Commission (Eurostat) shall disseminate appropriate statistical data with a periodicity comparable to that of the results transmitted (Directive 2009/42/EC).
The data are comparable with the data other European Union countries because a common methodology has been used for transport statistics.
The data are comparable over time because a common methodology has been used.
The detailed information on eventual breaks in the time series is provided in the Country Specific Notes (CSNs) available on Eurostat’s metadata page (in the Annex).
Some ports may fall out of the survey over time and some may be added depending on the cargo or passenger traffic volumes of the port (according to the rules based on the results of the previous three years).
