National Statistics Office of Malta

Regional, Geospatial, Energy and Transport Statistics Unit

marice.c.grech@gov.mt

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).

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: https://showvoc.op.europa.eu/#/datasets/ESTAT_Geonomenclature_2021_%28GEONOM_2021%29/data).

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 link: http://www.unece.org/cefact/locode/service/location.html. 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: https://showvoc.op.europa.eu/#/datasets/ESTAT_Geonomenclature_2021_%28GEONOM_2021%29/data).

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 Nation ECE Recommendation N°21.

The variables collected cover maritime data, in particular, the type of cargo handled in ports by type of direction, passengers embarked and disembarked and vessel traffic.

Main concepts used in this domain are the following and for more information on the concepts and methodology, please consult the Reference Manual on Maritime Transport Statistics.

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:

1. Shipped to offshore installations;
2. 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.

MALTA (MT)

Data is available from 2002

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.

National Level:

• The collection of statistics on maritime transport are regulated by the Malta Statistics Authority Act (Cap. 422 of the Laws of Malta)

  https://legislation.mt/eli/cap/422/mlt/pdf

European Level:

• The statistics on maritime transport are collected within the framework of within Directive 2009/42/EC and Commission Decision 2008/861/EC, as amended by Commission Decision 2010/216/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 April 2010, by Regulation 1090/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 and by Commission Delegated Decision 2012/186/EU of 3 February 2012.
• 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.

Not applicable.

National level:

• The NSO requests information for the compilation of official statistics according to the articles of the MSA Act – Cap. 422 and the Data Protection Act – Cap. 586 of the Laws of Malta implementing the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

   

  Article 40 of the MSA Act stipulates the restrictions on the use of information while Article 41 stipulates the prohibition of disclosure of information. Furthermore, Section IX of the Act (Offences and Penalties) lays down the measures to be taken in case of unlawful exercise of any officer of statistics regarding confidentiality of data.

   

  Since its inception, the NSO has always assured that all data collected remains confidential and that it is used for statistical purposes only according to the articles and derogations stipulated in the laws quoted above.  The Office is obliged to protect the identity of data providers and refrain from divulging any data to third parties that might lead to the identification of persons or entities.

   

  During 2009, the NSO has set up a Statistical Disclosure Committee to ensure that statistical confidentiality is observed, especially when requests for microdata are received.

   

  Upon employment, all NSO employees are informed of the rules and duties pertaining to confidential information and its treatment. In line with stipulations of the MSA Act, before commencing work, every employee is required to take an oath of secrecy whose text is included in the same Act.

   

  An internal policy on anonymisation and pseudo-anonymisation is in place to ascertain that adequate methods are used for the protection of data which the office collects and shares with the public in its capacity as the National Statistics Office.  The policy is meant to safeguard confidentiality of both personal and business data entrusted to the NSO.  The document provides guidance for all NSO employees who process data on a daily basis as to how anonymisation and pseudo-anonymisation methods should be applied.  The policy applies to all confidential, restricted and internal information, regardless of form (paper or electronic documents, applications and databases) that is received, processed, stored and disseminated by the NSO.

   

European level:

• (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.

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."

An advance release calendar is maintained by the NSO and published on the NSO website.  The calendar projects three months of news releases (including the current and two subsequent months).

https://nso.gov.mt/en/News_Releases/Release_Calendar/Pages/News-Release-Calendar.aspx 

An internal policy on dissemination is in place to govern the dissemination of official statistics in an impartial, independent and timely manner, making them available simultaneously to all users.

The NSO’s primary channel for the dissemination of official statistics is the NSO website.  Tailored requests for statistical information may also be submitted through the NSO website.

Moreover, relevant news releases are available in electronic format on the NSO website.

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.

Not applicable

Maritime transport data is published annually in the Transport Statistics Publication

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

The Reference Manual on Maritime Transport Statistics as published by Eurostat has been followed.

The quality assurance procedures detailed in the Reference Manual on Maritime Transport Statistics as published by Eurostat have been applied.

The accuracy of maritime transport statistics is ensured by adherence to the methodological manual specified in sub concept 10.6.

The NSO has developed an internal Quality Management Framework (QMF) which is built on common requirements of the ESS Code of Practice (ESS CoP).  A document was prepared to include a set of general quality guidelines spanning over all statistical domains.  Assuring methodological soundness is an integral part of the QMF, nonetheless, the document spans also on other areas related to institutional aspects.

Every five to seven years, the NSO participates in a Peer Review exercise through which the compliance of its operations with principles of the ESS CoP is assessed by an expert team.  Peer Reviews are indeed part of the European Statistical System (ESS) strategy to implement the ESS CoP.  Each NSI is expected to provide information as requested by a standard self-assessment questionnaire.  Following this an expert team visits the office to meet NSI representatives and main stakeholders.  Peer Reviews result in a compliance report and the listing of a set of Improvement Actions which need to be followed up by the NSI.  The next round of Peer Reviews is planned to be carried out in 2022.

The compilation and dissemination of maritime transport statistics through the output delineated in sub-concept 3.1 is in adherence with the Reference Manual on Maritime Transport Statistics.

 
The data source conducts its own quality assessments, however, the NSO verifies the data submitted by this source for implausible combinations, consistency across time, data gaps and coherence. Such consistency checks ensure that the overall quality of maritime transport statistics is good.

The main users of maritime transport statistics are Eurostat and DG Move. Eurostat uses the data submitted by Member States to produce tables and indicators about maritime transport statistics which are disseminated by means of news releases, publications and online databases. Locally, the data are used by local stakeholders and research institutes. 

The last User Satisfaction Survey was held in 2014 with the aim to collect information about key users’ satisfaction with statistical output.

The NSO keeps record of the number of News Releases and publications disseminated on its website; the users to whom statistical products are provided; as well as the number of requests that are processed every year.

The data completeness rate stands at 100%.  

The accuracy of maritime transport statistics is good as the data collection covers all licensed shipping agents and operators. However, data may still be subject to revision as the data collection and validation process, mainly by Transport Malta is an ongoing process which may result in revised data for the more recent years.

Not applicable for maritime transport data collection.

Potential sources of non-sampling error relate to processing errors.  Prior to transmitting the data to Eurostat, the data are validated as explained in sub-concept 11.2 to limit any possible errors.

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. The Commission (Eurostat) shall disseminate appropriate statistical data with a periodicity comparable to that of the results transmitted (Directive 2009/42/EC).

The deadlines for transmissions are usually met.

Countries that report data in accordance with the legislation listed in sub-concept 6.1 and the methodological guidance described in sub-concept 10.6, use common definitions and classifications thus, ensuring comparability across countries. 

Comparability over time is ensured through the implementation of a constant methodology as endorsed by Eurostat.  Detailed data on Maritime Transport Statistics are comparable from 2002 onwards.

The data are consistent.

Data are internally coherent as the totals in each dataset are equal to the sum of components. Internal coherence is ensured through the application of validation controls.

No systematic study about the cost associated with the data collection and production for maritime transport statistics has been carried out. The data used by the NSO to compile maritime transport statistics are mainly provided by administrative sources which have been set up as a requirement of other regulations and directives.  

Revision of data is compliant with the ESS Code of Practice principles.

At the NSO, there is currently no internal policy governing revisions that occur for all statistics produced.  Nonetheless, a revisions policy is being drafted to safeguard a coordinated revisions system across statistical domains.

This policy will take account of the need and causes for revisions; time and frequency of revisions; data and other statistical products affected by such revisions; and length of periods revised.

In cases where the administrative sources revise the data which have already been used in the transmissions to Eurostat, the data will be revised and resubmitted accordingly. With regards to the national news releases/publications, any previously published data which have been revised, if any, will be updated in line with the revised data prior to publishing.  Users will be informed of such revisions in the methodological notes of each news release.

The following entities provide the administrative data required for the compilation and dissemination of maritime transport statistics:

Transport Malta - Transport Malta is the Authority for Transport in Malta as set up by Act XV of 2009. As a government authority, Transport Malta was set up to assume the functions previously exercised by the Malta Maritime Authority, the Malta Transport Authority, and the Department of Civil Aviation. Transport Malta encompasses operational and supporting units and directorates. These include maritime (ports, yachting and merchant shipping), traffic management, land transportation, roads, infrastructure and civil aviation. Following the establishment of roads agency Infrastructure Malta in 2018, Transport Malta has retained its regulatory role with regard to Malta’s road network.

Gozo Channel Co. Ltd - is a Maltese company founded in 1979 that operates ferry services between the islands of Malta and Gozo using Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferries. Crossings happen throughout the day all-year round including weekends, public holidays, and night services. The company's ferry services are the main connection between the two islands and it is used by millions of Gozitans, Maltese and tourists every year. It currently operates with four ferries. In addition to the normal services of foot passengers and car passengers, Gozo Channel also offers services for cargo vehicles and hazardous cargo.

Data from Transport Malta and Gozo Channel Co. Ltd is collected on a quarterly and annual basis.

The administrative data listed in sub-concepts 18.1 and 18.2 are received by email and are password encrypted. When the administrative data are received, the NSO makes sure that all the variables requested have been provided by the administrative data source. In cases where not all the variables have been provided, the NSO informs the administrative data source accordingly.

The NSO verifies all the administrative data received from its administrative sources. Checks for implausible combinations, contradictory values, missing values and for time series consistency are carried out. Whenever, anomalous values and data gaps are identified, clarifications are sought and in certain cases the data may also be revised by the data provider. 

The data compilation process is done through the administrative databases. The data compiled are used to compile the quarterly and annual data transmissions to Eurostat. 

Not applicable.

Nil