This article presents the latest statistical data on freight handling and passenger traffic in ports in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway, Montenegro and Turkey. It also covers maritime transport flows with the main partner geographical areas, as well as individual results for major European ports. This article contains data for 2013. The next update (with figures for 2014) is provisionally scheduled for February 2016. Please note that the 2012 and 2013 figures for France are provisional estimates which are likely to be revised.
Main statistical findings
Stable volumes of seaborne goods and passengers in EU ports
The volumes of goods and passengers passing through EU ports remained more or less stable from 2012 to 2013, with a 0.6 % decrease in the total gross weight of goods and a 0.5 % increase in the number of seaborne passengers.
The total gross weight of goods handled in EU ports is estimated at 3.7 billion tonnes in 2013. Despite the slight decrease in the seaborne tonnage compared with 2012, there are signs of a renewed recovery in EU port freight activity emerging in the third and fourth quarters of 2013 (Figure 1). Even so, the gross weight of goods handled in the EU-28 ports in 2013 was still lower than the volumes handled before the economic downturn in Europe in 2009.
The Netherlands remained the largest maritime freight transport country in Europe in 2013, while Rotterdam, Antwerpen and Hamburg maintained their positions as the three largest ports. The 20 largest ports accounted for about 38 % of the total tonnage of goods handled in the countries reporting data in 2013. Rotterdam alone accounted for more than 9% of the total tonnage (Table 3).
The number of passengers passing through EU ports is estimated at close to 400 million in 2013. Italy and Greece remained the leading seaborne passenger transport countries in Europe in 2013, with a combined share of 36 % of the total number of seaborne passengers embarking and disembarking in the reporting countries (Table 6).
The Netherlands is EU’s largest maritime freight transport country
The Netherlands has recorded the largest tonnage of maritime freight transport in Europe since 2010 (Table 1). At 548 million tonnes, the volume of seaborne goods handled in Dutch ports in 2013 represented 14.8 % of the EU-28 total. The Netherlands was followed by the United Kingdom and Italy, with shares of 13.5 % and 12.3 % of the EU total, respectively. Behind these three, Spain remained the fourth largest and France the fifth largest EU maritime freight transport countries. Ports in the candidate country Turkey handled 379 million tonnes of goods in 2013, placing it between Spain and France in terms of total volume of seaborne goods handled in the reporting countries.
Compared with 2012, the largest relative increases in port activity were recorded by Portugal (+15.3 %), Cyprus (+15.0 % from a low base), Bulgaria (+10.9 %) and Romania (+10.3 %), while the largest relative decreases were recorded in Latvia (-7.7 %) and Sweden (-6.6 %). Inward movements of goods to the EU-28 countries decreased by 1.2 % in 2013, but still accounted for more than 60 % of the total tonnage of goods handled in the EU ports. Liquid bulk goods, such as crude oil and oil products, made up a substantial proportion of the inward tonnage.
In the majority of EU countries, more seaborne goods are unloaded than loaded in ports. Malta and the Netherlands had the highest shares of total tonnage unloaded in 2013, both countries recording more than 70 % of the total tonnage of seaborne goods as inward movements to their ports. In contrast, Romania and Bulgaria (agricultural products), the three Baltic countries (oil products) and the EEA country Norway (ores, other dry bulk goods, crude oil and oil products) had high shares of outward movements of goods.
Liquid bulk made up almost 40 % of the total tonnage
Liquid bulk goods accounted for 38 % of the total tonnage of cargo handled in the main EU ports in 2013, followed by dry bulk goods, containerised goods and Ro-Ro mobile units (Table 2). The largest tonnage of liquid bulk goods were handled in the Netherlands (262 million tonnes), followed by the United Kingdom (197 million tonnes) and Italy (193 million tonnes). Estonia recorded the highest share of liquid bulk goods as a percentage of the total tonnage handled in its main ports (65 %), reflecting large volumes of oil products moved outward to the United States. With 139 million tonnes, Dutch ports also handled the largest tonnage of dry bulk goods in the EU in 2013. Even so, the dry bulk tonnage handled in the Netherlands was lower than the 154 million tonnes recorded by the candidate country Turkey.
Containers were the dominant type of cargo handled by Germany (44 %) and Belgium (40 %) in 2013. The largest tonnage of containerised goods was handled in German and Spanish ports (130 million tonnes and 126 million tonnes, respectively). The share of Ro-Ro units in the total tonnage of goods was highest for Denmark (27 %), Sweden (27 %) and Ireland (26 %). However, in tonnage terms, the United Kingdom (95 million tonnes) and Italy (84 million tonnes) recorded the largest quantities of goods transported on Ro-Ro mobile units in 2013.
Rotterdam, Antwerpen and Hamburg remained top ports
Rotterdam, Antwerpen and Hamburg, all located on the North Sea coast, consolidated their positions as Europe's top three ports for the gross weight of goods handled in 2013 (Table 3). They also kept their positions in terms of volume of containers handled (Table 4).
In 2013, the 20 largest ports accounted for 38 % of the total tonnage of goods handled in the reporting countries, a slight increase from 2012. The Dutch port of Rotterdam alone accounted for more than 9% of the total tonnage. Compared with 2012, the total tonnage of goods handled in Europe’s largest port increased slightly in 2013 (+0.3 %). However, within the total tonnage passing through Rotterdam in 2013, a substantial increase was recorded in the volumes of dry bulk goods (+17 %), while the tonnage recorded for other types of cargo fell.
Among the other top 20 cargo ports, both Antwerpen in Belgium and Hamburg in Germany reported increases in the total volume of goods handled in 2013 (+4.5 % and +6.2 %, respectively). The substantial growth recorded for Amsterdam in the Netherlands, however, is caused by inclusion of data for the neighbouring port of Velsen starting from 2013. Piraeus in Greece (+14.2 %), Ambarli in Turkey (+9.9 %), Trieste in Italy (+9.1 %) and Le Havre in France (+8.7 %) all reported substantial growth in port activity in 2013. In contrast, the ports of Botas and Aliaga in Turkey (-8.4 % and -7.2 %), Marseille in France (-6.8 %) and Bremerhaven in Germany (-6.4 %) reported significant decreases in port activity, mainly caused by reduced tonnage of liquid bulk goods in the first three ports and by reduced tonnage of containerised goods in Bremerhaven.
With close to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled in 2013, Rotterdam is also Europe’s largest container port (Table 4). Hamburg consolidated its position as the second largest container port in Europe with regard to the number of containers by handling more than 9 million TEUs in 2013, followed by Antwerpen with more than 8 million TEUs. Piraeus in Greece continued to record a significant increase in the volume of containers handled in 2013, with an increase of 13.7 % from 2012. The ports of Gdansk in Poland (+27.4 %), London in the UK (+37.5 %) and Sines in Portugal (+68.3 %) also recorded substantial increases in the number if TEUs handled in the same period.
The most specialised of the top 20 cargo ports are Milford Haven in the UK, Bergen in Norway and Botas in Turkey (all handling mostly liquid bulk goods), as well as Bremerhaven in Germany and Piraeus in Greece (handling mostly containers). While inward activity is prevalent in most of the top 20 ports, the ports of Bergen and Botas both handle substantial outward movements of crude oil. In addition, Bremerhaven and the Spanish port of Valencia recorded more outward than inwards movements of containerised goods.
Nine of the top 20 ports in 2013 are located on the Mediterranean and eight are located on the North Sea coast (Map 1). Two of the top 20 ports are located on the Atlantic coast, while only one is on the Black Sea coast. The composition of the port infrastructure will sometimes determine if a country is represented on the top 20 list of cargo ports or not. Denmark, for instance, is endowed with a large number of medium size ports but none are above the 39 million tonnes threshold required to make the top 20 list.
Most EU maritime freight transport is with extra-EU partners
Unlike statistics presented earlier in this article, the figures in Table 5 do not present the total handling of goods in ports (inward movements plus outward movements), but estimate the seaborne transport of goods between main ports and their partner ports. As far as possible, double-counting of the same goods being reported as outward transport in one port and inward transport in another port is excluded in these figures (see data sources and availability).
In total, EU seaborne transport increased by 0.4 % from 2012 to 2013. 63 % of this EU-28 seaborne transport of goods was carried out to or from ports outside the EU, making maritime transport by far the most important mode for long distance transport of goods to or from the EU, in tonnage terms. Please note that the one percentage point increase in reporting of unknown port of loading or unloading may have slightly influenced both the calculated transport figures and the shares of maritime freight transport allocated to intra-EU, extra-EU and national maritime transport for 2013.
In countries with a geography characterised by long shorelines or a large number of islands, like Greece, Italy, Denmark and Norway, the share of national seaborne transport is naturally quite high (from 17 % to 30 %). Countries like Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Finland and Sweden, on the other hand, have the highest shares of international intra-EU transport (more than 60 %), because their main maritime freight transport partners are found within the EU. Other countries, like Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia, have high shares of extra-EU transport (above 70 %), based on their geographical position or the "deep sea" nature of the transport activities prevailing in their main ports.
Map 2 illustrates the eight largest maritime transport flows between the EU and the main international partner areas. As shown in the map, the top eight transport flows to or from the EU in 2013 were the inward flows of goods from the Baltic Sea region of Russia, Brazil, the East Coast of the USA, Norway, the Black Sea region of Russia, China, Turkey and Egypt. In comparison, the ninth largest seaborne transport flow in 2013 was the outward flow of goods from the EU to the East Coast of the USA (not illustrated in the map).
Slight recovery in number of seaborne passengers
The total number of passengers embarking and disembarking in EU-28 ports is estimated at 400 million in 2013, a rise of 0.5 % compared with 2012 which might signal an end to the falling trend observed in the number of seaborne passengers in recent years (Table 6).
Unlike goods movements (where broadly 60 % of goods are unloaded and 40 % loaded in the European ports), the difference between the number of passengers embarking ("outward movements") and disembarking ("inward movements") in European ports is normally small. This reflects the fact that seaborne passenger transport in Europe is mainly carried by national or intra-EU ferry services, with the same passengers being counted twice in the statistics (once when they embark the ferry in one port and once when they disembark in another).
Italy maintained its position as the leading seaborne passenger transport country in Europe with more than 73 million passengers embarking and disembarking in 2013, followed by Greece with just under 73 million passengers embarking and disembarking. While Italy recorded a 4.6 % decrease in the number of passengers passing through its ports in 2013, the number of seaborne passengers passing through Greek ports was almost the same in 2012 and 2013.
The top 20 passenger ports accounted for about 38% of the total number of passengers embarking and disembarking in the reporting countries in 2013 (Table 7), about the same as in 2012. The port of Dover in the UK consolidated its position as the largest passenger port in the EU with a 7.1 % increase in the number of seaborne passengers from 2012 to 2013. The port of Calais in France and the ports of Palma de Mallorca and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain recorded the largest relative increases in number of passengers in 2013, while the Italian ports of Messina and Reggio di Calabria recorded the largest decreases.
Cruise passengers represented only 3.4 % of the total number of seaborne passengers embarking and disembarking in EU ports in 2013. However, these passengers play an important role in the relatively small number of ports and countries this traffic is concentrated in. More than 80 % of the total number of cruise passengers embarking and disembarking in European ports in 2013 did so in the four countries Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany (Table 6).
The figures in Table 6 and 7 show that some ports have experienced quite substantial decreases in the number of seaborne passengers over time. These changes are typically caused by openings of new bridge or tunnel connections and subsequent closure of ferry links. The rapid growth in low cost flights in recent years might be another cause behind the observed decline in the number of seaborne passengers over time.
Most EU seaborne passenger transport is within national borders
Table 8 shows the breakdown of seaborne passenger transport between national, international intra-EU and international extra-EU transport for each reporting country (excluding cruise passengers). Unlike the statistics presented in tables 6 and 7, these figures do not reflect the sum of embarkation and disembarkation of passengers in ports, but estimate the transport of passengers between ports. As far as possible, double-counting of the same passengers being reported as embarking in one port and disembarking in another port is excluded in these figures (see data sources and availability).
Seaborne passenger transport with the main EU-28 ports increased 2.6 % from 2012 to 2013, to an estimate of 210 million passengers. Please note that the three percentage point increase in reporting of unknown port of embarkation or disembarkation may have slightly influenced both the calculated transport figures and the shares of maritime passenger transport allocated to intra-EU, extra-EU and national maritime transport for 2013.
Thirteen of the reporting countries recorded increases in the transport of seaborne passengers from 2012 to 2013. The largest relative increases were reported by France (+12.6 %), Spain (+10.4 %) and the candidate country Turkey (+9.2 %). In contrast, the number of seaborne passengers transported to or from the main ports of the two leading maritime passenger countries, Italy and Greece, fell by 4.1 % and 1.1 %, respectively.
About 58% of the seaborne passenger transport in the EU is carried out between ports situated in the same country. In general, countries with busy ferry connections and well-populated islands tend to have both a large volume of maritime passenger transport and a high share of national maritime passenger transport. This applies to the two leading maritime passenger transport countries, Italy and Greece, as well as countries like Portugal and Croatia.
Countries with regular ferry connections to other EU countries, like Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, naturally have high shares of international intra-EU transport. As in previous years, Spain and Denmark recorded the highest shares of extra-EU passenger transport in 2013. This is mainly due to the geographical position of the countries, with Spain having links with Morocco and Denmark with Norway.
Larger vessels calling in the main EU ports
The number of vessel calls in the main EU-28 ports (excluding French ports) was just below 2.1 million in 2013, a decrease of 3.7% compared with 2012 (Table 9). With the corresponding gross vessel tonnage (GT) falling by 1.6%, the trend towards a slightly larger average size of vessels calling in the EU ports continued. The average size of the vessels calling in EU ports was just above 7 000 GT in 2013, the largest average size of vessels recorded in the statistics.
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Maritime_ports_freight_and_passenger_statistics
Source: European Commission