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.
Transport, Post and Telecommunications Statistics Unit - Structural Business Statistics Directorate - Economic Statistics Directorate-General
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
16, Libertatii Blvd. Bucharest, Romania
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
10 May 2023
2.2. Metadata last posted
8 July 2022
2.3. Metadata last update
6 June 2024
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 -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 main port is a statistical port which has annual movements of no less than 200 000 passengers or recording more than one millions 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 weightof 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
The data used in the domain are collected at port level.
3.6. Statistical population
Detailed data are provided for ports handling more than one million tonnes of goods or recording more than 200 000 passenger movements annually (Main ports). The other ports are required to provide summary data. However, detailed data may be included also for minor ports on a voluntary basis.
3.7. Reference area
The reference area is Romania.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data has been provided since 2001 reference year, according to the legislation.
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. Whole calendar years for datasets A3, B1 and E1.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
National Level:
Law 226/2009 on organising and functioning of official statistics in Romania updated with subsequent amendments: See the Insse website.
Orders of the President of the National Institute of Statistics
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.
(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
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
Quarterly and annual sets of data are provided to the European Commission - Eurostat in accordance with the legislation in force, i.e. within five months of the end of the period of observation for data of quarterly periodicity and within eight months for data of annual periodicity
At national level, data is disseminated at seventy days of the end of the period of observation in NIS quarterly publication 'Transport of goods and passengers at ports' and at ninety days of the end of the quarter in NIS publication 'Transport of goods and passengers, by mode of transport'.
Quarterly data is also disseminated in 'Monthly Statistical Bulletin'. Annual data is disseminated in NIS' TEMPO online database, in Romanian Statistical Yearbook and in other NIS' publications.
Data is disseminated in electronic format on NIS' website, as scheduled in the Catalogue of statistical publications and services. Data is available to all users at the same time in electronic format and on paper.
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.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Data is not disseminated in regular or ad-hoc press releases.
The statistical data are produced in accordance with the legislation in force.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
User satisfaction surveys are carried-out at NIS every three years.
12.3. Completeness
Maritime transport statistics are produced in accordance with the legislation in force.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The overall accuracy of the statistics produced is good.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable for maritime transport data collection.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not the case.
14.1. Timeliness
Quarterly data is transmitted to Eurostat within five months of the end of the period of observation; 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
Data is delivered on time.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Maritime transport statistics are comparable between geographical areas.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Maritime transport statistics have been reported since 2001 reference year.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Data is reconciliable with those obtained through other statistical domains.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The statistics are consistent within data sets.
Data is collected from Ports Authorities, based on the provisions of the Statistical Law and of the National Annual Statistical Programme. Data provided is usually contained in Ports Authoritties databases.
Data is collected through an exhaustive statistical survey.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
The survey is carried out every quarter at NIS Romania.
18.3. Data collection
Data is gathered on Excel format transmitted by our respondents via email. An Word questionnaire is provided every year to our respondents.
18.4. Data validation
Data received is checked and validated at NIS Transport, Post and Telecommunications Unit, based on clarifications and corrections provided by the respondents.
18.5. Data compilation
Not the case
18.6. Adjustment
Data is not adjusted.
Not the case.
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 -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 main port is a statistical port which has annual movements of no less than 200 000 passengers or recording more than one millions 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 weightof 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.
The data used in the domain are collected at port level.
Detailed data are provided for ports handling more than one million tonnes of goods or recording more than 200 000 passenger movements annually (Main ports). The other ports are required to provide summary data. However, detailed data may be included also for minor ports on a voluntary basis.
The reference area is Romania.
Quarters for datasets A1, A2, C1, C2, D1, F1 and F2. Whole calendar years for datasets A3, B1 and E1.
The overall accuracy of the statistics produced is good.
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).
Not the case
Data is collected through an exhaustive statistical survey.
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.
Quarterly data is transmitted to Eurostat within five months of the end of the period of observation; 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).
Maritime transport statistics are comparable between geographical areas.
Maritime transport statistics have been reported since 2001 reference year.
