The Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

BUSINESS STATISTICS SECTION

CROSS-SECTIONAL STATISTICS DEPARTMENT

STATISTICAL OFFICE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

LAMAČSKÁ CESTA 3/C

840 05 BRATISLAVA

SLOVAKIA

Inland waterway transport statistics provides information on the volume and performance of freight transport on EU inland waterway network. They are reported on the basis of the "territoriality principle" which means that each country reports the loading, unloading and movements of goods that take place on its national territory, irrespective of country of origins of undertakings or place of first loading and final unloading.

The full data provision obligation includes:

• annually: goods transport by type of goods, by nationality of vessels and by type of vessel as well as container transport by type of goods;
• quarterly: goods and container transport by nationality of vessels.

In addition, the legislation foresees voluntary annual data on vessel traffic. Voluntary annual data on the transport of dangerous goods and the number of accidents has been agreed with the reporting countries.

In summary, the statistics transmitted to Eurostat on inland waterway transport:

• Transport of goods (annual and quarterly mandatory data provision);
• Vessel traffic (annual voluntary data provision);
• Transport of dangerous goods (annual voluntary data provision)
• Number of accidents (annual voluntary data provision).

Country and NUTS codes

Territorial units like reporting country and regions for loading/unloading are coded according to NUTS classification for those units covered by NUTS Regulation and to ISO 3166 for the rest (e.g. territorial units outside EU). The used version of NUTS always corresponds to the version in use and no conversion to previous version is required. For instance, NUTS 2006 is used for 2008 to 2011 data, NUTS 2010 for 2012 to 2014 data, NUTS 2013 for 2015 to 2017 and NUTS 2016 for 2018 until next NUTS Regulation.

The level of detail is either NUTS0 – for reporting country – or NUTS2 (basic regions, 4 digits) – for regions. When using ISO 3166 and 4-digits level coding is required (e.g. for regions outside EU), the two-digit ISO code followed by “ZZ” is used.

Goods classification

Prior to 2007, the types of goods reported as being transported by inland waterways were those defined by NST/R (Standard Goods for Transport Statistics). In 2007 only, the type of goods has been reported according either to the NST-2000 classification or to the NST/R classification. From 2008 onwards, only the NST2007 classification is valid as set out in Commission Regulation 1304/2007 amending Regulation 1365/2006 with respect to the establishment of NST2007 as the unique classification for transported goods in certain transport modes.

Dangerous goods are classified according to the European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN). The classes are the following:

Class      Denomination

1             Explosive substances and articles
2             Gases
3             Flammable liquids
4.1          Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and solid desensitised explosives
4.2          Substances liable to spontaneous combustion
4.3          Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases
5.1          Oxidising substances
5.2          Organic peroxides
6.1          Toxic substances
6.2          Infectious substances
7             Radioactive material
8             Corrosive substances
9             Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles

Enterprises with principal activity in Division 50 of NACE Rev. 2.

Enterprises with principal activity in other Divisions of NACE Rev.2. and a valid Inland waterway transport license.

The definitions covering the main concepts used in this domain are included in Article 1 and Annex II to Regulation 425/2007. The main definitions are as follows:

Navigable inland waterway: A watercourse, no part of the sea, which by natural or man-made features is suitable for navigation, primarily by inland waterway vessels. This term covers navigable rivers, lakes, canals and estuaries.

Inland waterway vessel: A floating craft designed for the carriage of goods or public transport of passengers, which navigates predominantly in navigable inland waterways or in waters within, or closely adjacent to sheltered waters or areas where port regulations apply.

Nationality of the vessel: The country in which the vessel is registered.

Inland waterways transport: Any movement of goods using inland waterways vessels, which is undertaken wholly or partly in navigable inland waterways.

National inland waterways transport: Inland waterways transport between two ports of a national territory irrespective of the nationality of the vessel.

International inland waterways transport: Inland waterways transport between two ports located in different national territories.

Transit inland waterways transport: Inland waterways transport through a national territory between two ports both located in another national territory or national territories provided that in the total journey within the national territory there is no trans-shipment.

Inland movement: any movement of goods and/or passengers to and from inland ports connected by water routes which may be made navigable by one or more lock structures.

Inland waterways traffic: Any movement of a vessel on a given navigable inland waterway.

Types of vessels:

• Self-propelled barge. Any powered inland waterways freight vessel, other than self-propelled tanker barges.
• Barge not self-propelled. Any unpowered inland waterways freight vessel, other than not self-propelled tanker barges. This category includes towed, pushed and pushed-towed barges.
• Self-propelled tanker barge. A self-propelled barge intended for the transport of liquids or gases in fixed tanks.
• Tanker barge not self-propelled. A barge not self-propelled intended for the transport of liquids or gases in fixed tanks.
• Other goods carrying vessel. Any other known or unknown kind of inland waterways freight vessel intended for carrying goods not defined in the previous categories.
• Seagoing vessel. A vessel other than those, which navigate predominantly in navigable inland waterways or in waters within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or areas where port regulations apply.

Containers: A freight container means an article of transport equipment:

1. of a permanent nature and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use;

2. specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading;

3. fitted with devices permitting its ready handling, particularly its transfer from one mode of transport to another;

4. so designed as to be easy to fill and empty;

5. having a length of 20 feet or more.

The size of containers is reported according to four categories:

1) 20 Foot ISO containers (length of 20 feet and width of 8 feet)

2) 40 Foot ISO containers (length of 40 feet and width of 8 feet)

3) ISO containers over 20 feet and under 40 feet in length

4) ISO containers over 40 feet long

Containers smaller than 20 feet are reported under Category 1.

Containers of unknown size are reported under Category 3.

Inland waterways accidents: specific, identifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external event caused by, or in connection with, the operation of an inland waterways vessel resulting in an inland waterways casualty or incident which occurs at a particular time and place, without apparent cause but with marked effect.

By definition suicides are excluded, as they are a deliberate act. Because of their importance, suicide statistics should be collected separately. Terrorist and criminal acts are excluded.

Inland waterways accidents involving the transport of dangerous goods: An inland waterways accident involving a vessel carrying any of the classes of dangerous goods defined by the ADN classification

Inland waterway traffic: any movement of an IWT vessel on a given IWT network.When a vessel is being carried on another vehicle, only the movement of the carrying vehicle (active mode) is taken into account.

Inland waterway journey: any movement of an IW vessel from a specified point of origin to a specified point of destination.

 For more definitions and concepts, please consult the “Reference Manual on Inland Waterways Transport Statistics”, chapter 4.

The statistical units for inland waterways transport are the inland waterways undertakings.

All enterprises/undertakings that carry out inland waterways transport on a national territory over one year, irrespective of their country of origins or place of first loading and final unloading.

Data are available for the Slovak Republic total.

All relevant data are available since year 2004.

Not applicable

Data is disseminated using the following units of measure:

• 1000T: Thousands of tonnes
• MIO_TKM: Millions of tonnes/km (the transport of one tonne by inland waterways over one kilometre)
• TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (a unit of volume used in maritime transport statistics equivalent to a 20-foot ISO container )
• 1000 TEU_KM: Thousands of TEUs/Km (the transport of one twenty-foot equivalent unit over one kilometre )
• VES_MOV: Vessel movements (in number)
• >VES_KM: Thousands of vessels/Km (the number of movement of an IWT vessel over one kilometre. The distance taken into account is the distance actually run. Movements of unladed vessels are included. In a convoy, each unit is counted as a vessel)

Calendar year.

European:

• Regulation (EU) 2018/974 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways (codification)

National:

•  The Programme of State Statistical Surveys

The required variables are sent to Eurostat and to other national information system needs organizations.         

European:

• Regulation (EC) No 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.

National:

• Protection of statistical confidentiality (protection of confidential statistical data) is a system of interrelated measures in the legislative, methodological, organizational, technical, security and personnel fields, preventing the leakage of confidential statistical data or the premature publication of statistical information. Authorities performing state statistics are obliged to ensure the protection of confidential statistical data from misuse in the manner set out in § 25a and § 29 and 30 of Act No. 540/2001 Coll. on State Statistics, as amended.
  

  The principles of the application of confidential statistical data protection are available on the website of the SO SR at: https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/services/infoservis/confidential

The data collected is not confidential

Data on Inland waterway transport (indicators mentioned in point 3.1) are published annually at national level.

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The statistical information dissemination policy is formulated in accordance with the State Statistics Act, the Statistical Office Development Strategy, the Eurostat Information Dissemination Strategy and the European Statistics Code of Practice.

The principles of publishing and providing statistical information are available on the website of the Statistical Office of the SR at: https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/services/infoservis/principles

Data on Inland waterway transport (indicators mentioned in point 3.1) are published annually at national level.

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Yearbook of transport, posts and telecommunication

DATACUBE

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The SO SR has a quality management system in place. The Quality Manual includes a description of the quality management system and the fulfillment of ISO 9001 requirements. The application of the Manual ensures that all activities that affect the quality of the products being produced are planned, managed, reviewed, evaluated and meet the requirements accepted in the order. The Quality Guide is available at: https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/aboutus/key.documents/quality.declaration

The basis of the whole quality management system is the Code of Practice for European Statistics: https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/aboutus/key.documents/code.of.practise

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.

The key users of Inland waterway transport statistics are:

• Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic
• Universities and research institutions

User satisfaction is monitored via “Survey on satisfaction of users with products and services of the SO SR” conducted regularly with two-year periodicity. Evaluation of the user satisfaction survey also includes satisfactions rate (overall and for specified areas as well as for groups of products) and it is submitted together with conclusions and suggestions for improvements to top management meeting for approval.

Result of the surveys are published on the website of the Statistical Office of the SR at: https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/aboutus/marketing/survey.of.satisfaction

100% in comparison with the respective legislation.

The SO SR performs thorough verification of data in order to prevent the occurrence of errors.

Not applicable

To avoid non-selectable errors, i. errors in the process of collection and processing The SO SR has integrated logical and data controls in the integrated statistical information system (IŠIS) at the level of micro-data as well as at the level of aggregated data that are performed during data collection and processing.

The electronic questionnaire itself provides many arithmetic and logical controls between variables that we distinguish between serious and informative. In the event of serious errors in the form, this is not accepted and, in consultation with the reporting agent, is corrected to be correct and entered into processing. With these tools we try to minimize errors already in the collection itself and then during data processing.

Publication of data in the public database of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic „DATACUBE" is in accordance with the schedule of its updating.

Publication dates are respected.

There are no problems of comparability for inland waterway transport data collection with a very high data comparability across countries due to the common legal basis.

Comparable time series are available since January 2004.

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There are no deviations, statistical outputs are internally consistent.

It is estimated on the basis of the reporting unit of the time required to complete the form.

The revision policy governs the basic rules and general procedures by which the pre-drafted data is later revised as well as applied in revisions for other reasons.

The revision policy and calendar is available on the SO SR website at: https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/products/revisions

The policy described in 17.1 is fully implemented.

Statistical surveys:

• Dop 5 - 04 - Quarterly questionnaire in Inland waterway transport.
• Dop 8 - 01 - Annual questionnaire in waterway transport.

Data on the transit of foreign Inland waterway transport operators through the territory of the Slovak Republic are taken from the Statistical Office of Austria.

Quarterly, annualy.    

Electronic data collection is obligatory from 1 January 2016 in accordance with the obligation stipulated by the Act of the Slovak National Council no. Amending and supplementing the Act of the Slovak National Council no. 540/2001 Coll. Data should be submitted on the 20th calendar day following the end of the reference period. Non- responders are informed of their reporting obligation and contact their affiliates again. Most of the errors are directly consulted with the reporting agents.

Data validation is embedded in the integrated statistical information system of the SO SR. The following checks are distinguished when collecting data:

1. - formal checks carried out automatically in the data collection process
2. - informal controls to check the complexity and relationships between variables. From the point of view of the severity of errors:

I - Informatic Errors - Provide additional information that is needed for the process  of  checking and correcting data. They provide information on possible overruns of specified limits, partial non- response, etc.

Z - material errors - indicating specific errors that need to be corrected or justified by the reporting agent. These errors are discussed by the SO SR staff with the reporting unit and corrected.

The ISIS system also defines controls and algorithms for creating outputs that ensure their desired quality.

The survey is exhaustive. The collected data are summarized.

Not applicable.

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