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CHAPTER 10 WATER TRANSPORT
1.
Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides information about foreign and
domestic freight traffic at Scottish ports and inland
waterways by type of freight and country of origin and
destination. There are also statistics on passengers and
vehicles carried by Caledonian MacBrayne, Western Ferries
(Clyde) Ltd, Orkney Ferries, Northlink Orkney &
Shetland Ferries, and some of the other ferry services
operating in Scotland and some statistics on
HM Coastguard search and rescue
operations.
1.2 It should be noted that a new method for compiling
detailed port traffic statistics in the
UK was introduced in 2000, in order to
comply with the requirements of a new
EC Maritime Statistics Directive. This
should
not have affected the overall total volume of
traffic (inward or outward) for any port, but did produce
some large changes in the figures for "one-port " and
"coastwise" traffic, and in the split between "domestic"
and "foreign" traffic, between 1999 and 2000. Details of
the method and notes on the effect of the change are given
in
sections 3.1 and
4.2 to 4.4.
1.3 The main change in this edition is that
Table 10.12(a) has been
expanded to provide separate figures for each route rather
than just the totals for each Scottish port.
2.
Main Points
2.1 In 2003, a total of 80.0 million tonnes of freight
was recorded as being lifted by water transport in
Scotland: 19.5 million tonnes of "coastwise" traffic to
other ports in the United Kingdom (including some in
Scotland), 1.5 million tonnes of "one port" traffic to
offshore installations, and 58.9 million tonnes of exports
from the major Scottish ports. Only 10.1 million tonnes of
waterborne freight was carried for part of its journey on
inland waterways in 2003. Apart from the tonnage of port
exports (which fell by 13%), these figures were, in
general, similar to those of the previous year. Comparisons
with the figures for "coastwise" traffic in 1999 and
earlier years would be affected by the change in the method
of collecting the statistics.
(
Table 10.1[a])
2.2 Exports through Scottish ports rose from about 58
million tonnes in 1993 to a peak of around 76 million
tonnes in 1994, fell to some 58 million tonnes in 1997,
rose again to 68 million tonnes in 2002 and then fell to 59
million tonnes in 2003. However, it should be noted that
these increases and decreases are affected by changes in
the basis of the statistics: the figures for 1995 and later
years cover only exports through
major ports (
see section 4.3.3). While seven ports
were counted as major ports in 1995 and 1996, there were
eight in 1997 and 1998, nine in 1999 and 11 from 2000
onwards. Therefore, the figures for 1995 onwards are not
directly comparable with those for earlier years.
(
Table 10.1[a])
2.3 In 2003, a total of 6.8 million tonnes of coastwise
freight was discharged in Scotland: considerably less than
the amount that was lifted in Scotland. 12.8 million tonnes
of "one-port" traffic (nearly all from oil rigs) was
discharged in Scotland. Imports totalled 9.5 million
tonnes, considerably less than the volume of exports. There
are no figures for the amount of inland waterway traffic
which is discharged in Scotland.
(
Table 10.1[b])
2.4 The total amount of waterborne freight of all types
(coastwise, one port and foreign traffic; both incoming and
outgoing) passing through the ports fell by 10% in 2003 to
111 million tonnes. However, this was 9% more than in 1993
- but well below the most recent peak of over 130 million
tonnes in 2000. These comparisons of the total volume of
traffic are unaffected by the change in the method of
compiling the statistics. However, a breakdown between
"foreign" and "domestic" traffic has been collected only
for the "major" ports since 1995. In 2003, the eleven major
ports accounted for 96% of the total traffic through
Scottish ports. The information that is available for them
shows that over half of the total freight through Scottish
ports was exports, and around a sixth is domestic traffic
(either coastwise or one port) which is outward bound. The
levels of imports, and incoming domestic freight, are much
lower, together accounting for a quarter of the total
freight through Scottish ports.
(
Table 10.2)
2.5 The ports with the largest amounts of traffic are
Forth (around 39 million tonnes of traffic in 2003), Sullom
Voe (26 million tonnes) and Orkney (14 million tonnes). The
Forth total in 2003 was lower than in each year from 1994,
but substantially more than in 1993, due to a very large
increase between 1993 and 1994. Orkney has seen the amount
of freight traffic increase 22% from 11.9 million tonnes in
1993 to over 14.4 million tonnes in 2003 (though this is
lower than the figures for each year from 1998 to 2002,
inclusive). Sullom Voe, on the other hand, had much less
traffic than in 1993. Again, as these figures are for the
total volume of traffic, they are unaffected by the change
in the method of compiling the statistics.
(
Table 10.3)
2.6 Bulk fuel accounted for 88 million tonnes (83%) of
the total traffic through major Scottish ports in 2003.
(
Table 10.4)
2.7 The main ports for exports in 2003 were Forth (25
million tonnes), Sullom Voe (19 million tonnes) and Orkney
(9 million tonnes). Clyde (4.2 million tonnes) and Forth
(3.4 million tonnes) together accounted for almost all the
imports. Forth (9.2 million tonnes), Glensanda (2.7 million
tonnes) and Clyde (2.1 million tonnes) had most outward
domestic traffic; Sullom Voe (5.7 million tonnes) and
Orkney (4.0 million tonnes) were the main ports for inwards
domestic traffic.
(
Table 10.6)
2.8 The main types of traffic through the major ports in
2003 were crude oil (69.4 million tonnes), oil products
(9.9 million tonnes), "other dry bulk" (6.9 million
tonnes), coal (5.0 million tonnes) and liquefied gas (3.8
million tonnes).
(
Table 10.7)
2.9 In 2003 most exports went to the
USA (19.0 million tonnes) Netherlands
(10.9 million tonnes), France (7.9 million tonnes) and
Germany (7.0 million tonnes) while most imports arrived
from South Africa (2.2 million tonnes) and Norway (1.6
million tonnes).
(Table 10.8)
2.10 The total number of road goods vehicles and
containers passing through Scottish ports, and the weight
of freight that they carried, increased by around 43% and
49% respectively between 1993 and 2003.
(
Table 10.9)
2.11 Inland waterway traffic mainly comprises those
parts of coastwise, one-port and foreign traffic that are
carried on inland waterways. About 10.1 million tonnes of
freight were lifted in Scotland and carried on inland
waterways in 2003, in line with most of the past ten years
(when the total was usually between 10 and 12 million
tonnes). Most of the inland waterway traffic was carried on
the Forth.
(
Table 10.10)
2.12 In 2004, 2.3 million passengers were carried on
ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland, the
busiest Scottish port for this traffic being Stranraer,
which accounted for over half of the total. There were
192,000 passengers on the Rosyth/Zeebrugge ferry service in
2004.
(
Tables 10.12 (a) &
(b))
2.13 Caledonian MacBrayne ferries carried 5.3 million
passengers in 2004, about 141,000 (2.7%) more than in the
previous year. There were 1.1 million cars carried, 67,000
(6.5%) more than in 2003, and 99,100 commercial vehicles
and buses, 2,100 (2%) less than in 2003. The changes over
the past ten years in Caledonian MacBrayne's figures were
affected greatly by the withdrawal of the Kyle-Kyleakin
service in 1995, when the Skye Bridge opened: for example,
total passenger numbers fell from 6.2 million in 1994 to
5.1 million in 1996. However, if one excludes the
Kyle-Kyleakin service and the Gourock-Kilcreggan route
(which was taken over by another operator with effect from
2001), the total number of passengers on all of the other
services rose by nearly 650,000 (13.9%), from 4.7 million
in 1994 to 5.3 million in 2004.
(
Tables 10.13 and
10.14)
2.14 Northlink Ferries carried 289,000 passengers in
2004 (on routes that were operated by P & O Scottish
Ferries until 30 September 2002), 48,000 (20%) more than
used those routes in 2003 and 35% more than in 1994. Orkney
Ferries services carried 322,000 passengers in 2004, 12,000
(4%) more than in the previous year and 34% more than in
1994, when only 241,000 passengers were carried.
(
Table 10.13)
2.15 In 2004, the total number of passengers carried on
Caledonian MacBrayne, Northlink Ferries and Orkney Ferries
services was 5.9 million. Caledonian MacBrayne accounted
for 90% of the total passenger numbers on all these
services. Overall, revenue from users was nearly twice the
amount of subsidy for Caledonian MacBrayne, but revenue
from Orkney Ferries was only just over a third of the
amount of subsidy.
(
Table 10.13)
2.16 Shetland Islands Council services carried 755,000
passengers in 2004, 59,000 (8%) more than the previous
year. There were 315,000 cars carried which was 19,000 (6%)
more than in 2003. The equivalent figures for 1994 are not
available.
(
Table 10.13)
2.17 Caledonian MacBrayne's busiest route in terms of
passengers in 2004 was Wemyss Bay-Rothesay, with
764,200 passengers, a 1% decrease on the previous year, but
a 16% increase on 1994. Wemyss Bay-Rothesay was also the
company's busiest route for car traffic in 2004 with
152,100 car crossings, an increase of 3% over the previous
year. (
Table 10.14)
2.18 In 2004, the Western Ferries service between
Gourock and Dunoon carried 1,254,700 passengers, 4,900
(0.4%) less than in the previous year. The equivalent
figures for ten years earlier are not directly comparable
because of a change in the way in which passenger numbers
are counted. The number of cars carried on this route was
553,400, an increase of 4,200 (0.8%) from 2003, and was
165,900 (43%) more than the number carried in 1994.
(
Table 10.15)
2.19 The service between Toft and Ulsta had the largest
number of passengers of all the Shetland Islands Council
services, with 232,100 in 2004, 10,200 (5%) more than in
2003. Equivalent figures for ten years earlier are not
available.
(
Table 10.15)
2.20 The level of punctuality for Caledonian MacBrayne
lifeline ferry services was 98.8% in 2004-05. For Northlink
the level of lifeline ferry services that were both
punctual and reliable was 100% for Aberdeen routes and
96.7% for Pentland Firth routes in 2004-05.
(
Table 10.16)
2.21
HM Coastguard in Scotland rescued 1,148
people in 2004. 58 lives were lost.
(
Table 10.17)
3.
Notes and Definitions
3.1
The change in the Department for Transport's method of
compiling statistics of port traffic with effect from
20003.1.1 A new data collection system for maritime traffic
was introduced with effect from 2000. As a result, some
data for 2000 onwards are not directly comparable with
previous years. The reason for the change was to comply
with a new
EC Maritime Statistics Directive
(Council Directive 95/64/
EC on statistical returns in respect of
the carriage of goods and passengers by sea).
3.1.2 One of the effects of this change is that some
data for 2000, principally coastwise and one-port crude oil
traffic, and the inland waters penetration of such traffic,
are not directly comparable with information for previous
years. However, the overall totals are unaffected. 3.1.3
Previously, all freight information was collected from
ports annually. Major ports (generally those with cargo
volumes of at least 2 million tonnes a year) were asked for
detailed information on weight of traffic in and out of
their ports, identifying cargo categories (eg liquid bulks,
dry bulks, containers, Roll-on-Roll-off etc), and whether
they were foreign, coastwise or one port cargoes. Other
("minor") ports were required to provide only total weight
of cargo inwards and outwards.
3.1.4 In the new collection system, most of the detailed
freight information is collected from shipping lines,
operators or shipping agents, which are required to supply
detailed returns of their inwards and outwards traffic at
each major port for each ship, on each route. Major ports
(now defined as those with at least 1 million tonnes of
cargo a year) are only required to supply summary
information (for use as control totals) while other
("minor") ports continue to provide just the total weight
of cargo inwards and outwards.
3.1.5 One difference between the data from 2000 and
previous years affects
both coastwise and one-port crude oil estimates
from 2000. The new collection arrangements produce much
more reliable data on origins and destinations and (when
aggregated) coastwise, one-port and foreign traffic
summaries. Previously, this information was estimated by
ports, with varying degrees of accuracy, particularly for
crude oil traffic, which means that origins and
destinations for crude oil data in 1999 and earlier years
are approximate only. For example, in the previous system,
ports or refinery operators would not necessarily have been
able to tell if crude oil was shipped directly from the
UK offshore installation, or piped to a
land terminal such as Sullom Voe and then shipped out from
the land terminal, or if it was imported from a North Sea
country or another foreign crude oil producer. As a
consequence, it is likely that in 1999 and earlier years,
coastwise crude oil estimates have been
overestimated and
one-port traffic correspondingly underestimated.
This leads to the figures for "coastwise" traffic lifted in
Scotland falling substantially in 2000 compared with
1999.
Definitions
3.2
Coastwisetraffic: traffic between ports of the United
Kingdom,
excluding traffic between a
UK port and either the sea bed or an
off-shore installation. It should be noted that
Table 10.1(a) covers only
freight
lifted in Scotland, and therefore its figures for
coastwise traffic
exclude cargoes arriving from other
UK ports;
Table 10.1(b) covers
freight
discharged in Scotland, so includes cargoes
arriving from other
UK ports (including those elsewhere in
Scotland).
3.3
One port traffic: traffic between the sea bed or
an offshore installation and a
UK port. For example, it includes
traffic to and from offshore installations, materials
shipped for dumping at sea, and dredged sand and gravel etc
landed at a port for commercial purposes. The disappearance
of the "sea dumped" traffic is due to the end of sewage
dumping at sea. It should be noted that
Table 10.1(a) covers only
freight
lifted in Scotland:
Table 10.1(b) contains
figures for the one port traffic arriving from offshore
installations and any incoming sea dredged aggregates. The
reason for the increase in one-port oil traffic is due to
increased number of crude oil shipments into Sullom Voe and
Flotta, particularly from the newer Atlantic fields west of
the Shetlands, Schiehallion and Foinaven.
3.4
Domestic traffic: in the statistics of traffic
through the ports, "domestic" traffic comprises coastwise
traffic plus one port traffic.
3.5
Foreign traffic: traffic between ports in the
United Kingdom and other countries.
3.6
Inland waterways: in general, waterways bounded by
the furthest point downstream which is less than both 3 km
wide at low tide and 5 km wide at high tide (spring).
However, this definition is not applied strictly: for
example, the definition is "relaxed", where necessary, in
order
not to count, as inland waterway traffic,
short-haul shipping movements of foreign and coastwise
traffic, such as all sea-going traffic to or from major
seaboard ports.
3.7
Inland waters traffic: subdivides into
"coastwise", "one port" and "foreign" (in each case, that
part of the traffic that is carried upstream of the inland
waters "boundary", excluding "short haul" inland movements
of sea-going traffic) and "internal" (
i.e. not sea-going) traffic. All passenger and
passenger vehicle ferry services are
excluded, such as "crossing" movements (
e.g. Gourock-Dunoon) and coastwise ferries
entering sheltered waters (
e.g. Loch Ryan, on services between Stranraer
or Cairnryan and Northern Ireland).
3.8
Tonne-kilometres: where part of a voyage is on an
inland waters and part is at sea, account is taken of the
"inland waterway boundary", so that, in the case of traffic
involving "inland" ports, there is no double-counting of
tonne-kilometres between the figures for "inland waters"
and the figures for "coastwise", "one port" and "foreign"
traffic. (This is in contrast to the double-counting of
some of the figures for tonnage - for example, if a voyage
to another
UK port starts on a Scottish inland
waterway in Scotland, the tonnage would be counted in the
figures for both "inland waters" and "coastwise"
traffic.)
3.9
Container and roll-on traffic: includes
all traffic carried on special container and
roll-on vessels, as well as the container traffic carried
on conventional services.
3.10 "
Main Freight Units" comprise containers, road
goods vehicles, unaccompanied trailers, rail wagons,
shipborne port to port trailers and shipborne barges
only.
3.11
Persons assisted: Coastguard statistics relating
to persons given assistance do not include people who are
rescued.
4.
Sources
4.1 Most of the data in this section is supplied by the
Department for Transport (DfT). The Scottish Executive
obtains shipping service information from Caledonian
MacBrayne, Western Ferries, Northlink Ferries, Orkney
Ferries, Shetland Island Council and some of the other
operators of shipping and ferry services.
4.2
Waterborne Freight Lifted in Scotland (
Table 10.1)4.2.1 Statistics of waterborne freight (coastwise
traffic, one port traffic and inland waters traffic) are
compiled by
MDS-Transmodal Ltd under contract to the
Department for Transport.
4.2.2 A number of data sources are used to determine the
level of
coastwise traffic, including the tonnage of goods
reported in the port traffic statistics, (see below) and
other surveys, and information about vessel movements. (The
vessel movement data include the Northern Ireland, Orkney
and Shetland ferry services, but exclude ferries operated
by Caledonian MacBrayne and others in and around the
Western Isles.) The pattern of coastwise shipping flows, by
port and commodity group, is represented by origin and
destination matrices, and combined with Admiralty
information about the distances between ports. Where
appropriate, account is taken of the "inland waters
boundary", so that there is no double-counting of
tonne-kilometres between inland waters and coastwise
shipping, in the case of traffic involving "inland" ports.
The method which is used to derive the statistics of
coastwise shipping involves some adjustments and
reclassifications. As a result, the totals that it produces
do not match the port traffic statistics for reasons which
are described in the DfT Statistical Bulletin "
Waterborne Freight in the United Kingdom".
4.2.3 The principal sources for the statistics of
one-port traffic are the port statistics (
see section 4.3 below) and information
about the distances between the ports and the "at sea"
origins and destinations of the traffic, such as offshore
installations and dumping grounds.
4.2.4 The sources of the
inland waterway statistics are described in
section 4.4 below.
4.3
Traffic at Scottish Ports (
Tables 10.2 to 10.9)4.3.1 A new system for collecting detailed port traffic
statistics was introduced in 2000 to comply with the
requirements of an
EC Maritime Statistics Directive. Annual
traffic returns are made by shipping lines or their agents
and port authorities. This information has been used to
derive data on coastal and one-port traffic, and on the
inland waters penetration of such traffic. From 1 January
2000, shipping lines or their agents are required to supply
detailed statistics of foreign, coastwise and one-port
traffic for all cargoes loaded or unloaded at major
UK ports. "Major" ports are now defined
as those ports with cargo volumes of at least one million
tonnes in the previous year, plus a few smaller ports. The
major ports handled 97 per cent of total port traffic in
2000. In addition, port authorities at the major ports are
required to supply inwards and outwards control totals for
each cargo category. For all other ports, the port
authorities are required to supply just two figures: total
inwards and total outwards traffic. The lack of detailed
statistics for these minor ports means that a degree of
approximation is required in the statistics for their
traffic. For more details about the new data collection
system, see DfT's publication 'Maritime Statistics'
4.3.2 For 1999 and earlier years, the port traffic
statistics were produced, for the most part, from the
records made by each port authority of the dues levied on
goods passing through the port (supplemented, in some
cases, by figures supplied by others).
4.3.3 From 1995 to 1999, the
smaller ports (then defined as, generally, those with less
than 2 million tonnes of traffic per year) were not
required to supply detailed statistics - they provided only
two figures, for the total amounts of their "inwards" and
"outwards" traffic. Full details of freight traffic were
collected only for those ports with at least 2 million
tonnes of cargo in the previous year (and for a few ports
with less traffic): these were called the 'major' ports. In
the 1995 and 1996 surveys, there were seven 'major' ports
in Scotland: Aberdeen, Clyde, Cromarty Firth, Forth,
Glensanda (on Loch Linnhe, south-west of Fort William,
which exports crushed granite, which is classified in the
statistics as "crude minerals"), Orkney, and Sullom Voe. In
the 1997 and 1998 surveys, there were eight: these seven
plus Cairnryan, which was counted as a major port because
its 1996 return of its "inwards" and "outwards" totals had
shown that its traffic exceeded 2 million tonnes in 1996.
In 1999 the number of 'major' ports increased from eight to
nine, since total traffic at Peterhead had exceeded 2
million tonnes in 1998. In 2000, with the introduction of
the new definition of a "major" port (at least 1 million
tonnes), Stranraer and Dundee became "major" ports,
bringing the total in Scotland to 11.
4.4
Inland Waterways (
Tables 10.10 and
10.11)4.4.1 Statistics for internal traffic (ie traffic which
is wholly within inland waters) are collected directly by
DfT's contractor,
MDS-Transmodal, from all known operators
using personal interviews and postal questionnaires,
supplemented by statistics from British Waterways collected
primarily for toll levying purposes. Some information is
also drawn from Maritime Statistics Directive returns where
traffic is classified as internal movements and these
traffic movements are then excluded from other traffic
estimates to avoid duplication. For traffic moving to and
from the open sea, the figures for inland waterway
tonne-kilometres are calculated using information about the
distances from each inland waterway "boundary" to the ports
and wharves which are upstream of the boundary.
4.5
Shipping Services (
Tables 10.12 to 10.16)
4.5.1 The Scottish Executive obtains shipping service
information from DfT (in respect of the services between
Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Rosyth/Zeebrugge and
Lerwick/Europe routes). The Scottish Executive writes
directly to Caledonian MacBrayne, Western Ferries,
Northlink Ferries, Orkney Ferries, Shetland Island Council
and the other major ferry operators in Scotland for the
required information.
4.6
HM Coastguard Statistics (
Table 10.17)
4.6.1 Statistics on search and rescue operations are
obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
5.
Further Information
5.1 Further information on
UK water transport statistics can be
found in the annual DfT publications "
Maritime Statistics", "
Waterborne Freight in the
UK" and "
Transport Statistics Great Britain".
5.2 For further information on water freight transport
statistics, and the figures for Scotland/Northern Ireland,
the Rosyth/Zeebrugge and Lerwick/Europe routes, contact Mr
John Ryan, Department for Transport (tel: 0207 944
4443).
5.3 For further information on the numbers of passengers
and vehicles carried on ferry services within Scotland,
contact Mr Andrew Knight, the Scottish Executive Transport
Statistics Branch (tel: 0131 244 7256). For information
about the figures for the punctuality of lifeline ferry
services, contact the Scottish Executive Transport
Division: Dave Mackay (CalMac figures) on 0131 244 7243 and
Peter Bald (NorthLink figures) on 0131 244 5312.
5.4 For further information on
HM Coastguard statistics, contact Ms
Wendy Wood, Maritime and Coastguard Agency (tel: 023 8032
9416)
10.1 Foreign and domestic
freight traffic by port.
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