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1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides information about foreign and domestic freight traffic at Scottish ports and inland waterways by type of freight. There are also statistics on passengers and vehicles carried by Caledonian MacBrayne, P&O Scottish Ferries, Orkney Ferries and some of the other ferry services operating in Scotland.
1.2 The main changes in this edition are as follows:
2. Main Points
2.1 In 1999, a total of 105.1 million tonnes of freight was recorded as being lifted by water transport in Scotland: 35.3 million tonnes of "coastwise" traffic to other ports in the United Kingdom (including some in Scotland), 2.6 million tonnes of "one port" traffic to offshore installations, and 67.2 million tonnes of exports from the major Scottish ports. Only 9.5 million tonnes of waterborne freight was carried for part of its journey on inland waterways in 1999. (Table 10.1)
2.2 From 1989 to 1994, the total amount of coastwise freight traffic lifted in Scotland remained broadly between about 24 million tonnes and 28 million tonnes, before rising to almost 32 million tonnes in 1995. Although the 1999 total of 35.3 million tonnes was 11% lower than in 1998 (which was a record high level), it is still 25% higher than the figure for 1989. (Table 10.1)
2.3 Exports through Scottish ports rose steadily from about 45 million tonnes in 1989 to a peak of around 76 million tonnes in 1994, fell to some 58 million tonnes in 1997, then rose again to 67 million tonnes in 1999. However, it should be noted that these increases and decreases are affected by a change in the basis of the statistics: the figures for 1995 and later years cover only exports through major ports (see section 4.3.2). While seven ports were counted as major ports in 1995 and 1996, there were eight in 1997 and 1998 and nine in 1999. Therefore, the figures for 1995 onwards are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. (Table 10.1)
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 rose by around 4% in 1999 to 130 million tonnes, 38% more than in 1989. (Table 10.2)
2.5 From 1995, a breakdown between "foreign" and "domestic" traffic has only been collected for the "major" ports. In 1999, the nine major ports accounted for 95% 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 over a quarter is domestic traffic (either coastwise or one port) which is outward bound. The levels of imports, and incoming domestic freight, are much lower. (Table 10.2)
2.6 The ports with the largest amounts of traffic are Forth (around 45 million tonnes of traffic in 1999) and Sullom Voe (38 million tonnes). The Forth total was almost double the 1988 figure, due to a very large increase between 1993 and 1994. Orkney has seen the amount of freight traffic increase from 4 million tonnes in 1989 to almost 17 million tonnes in 1999. Sullom Voe, on the other hand, had 7% less traffic than in 1989. (Table 10.3)
2.7 Bulk fuel accounted for almost 107 million tonnes (86%) of the total traffic through major Scottish ports in 1999. (Table 10.4)
2.8 The main ports for exports in 1999 were Forth (29 million tonnes) and Sullom Voe (22 million tonnes). Clyde (3.9 million tonnes) and Forth (2.1 million tonnes) together accounted for almost all the imports. Forth (13 million tonnes) and Sullom Voe (10 million tonnes) had most outward domestic traffic; Sullom Voe (5.1 million tonnes) and Orkney (3.7 million tonnes) were the main ports for inwards domestic traffic. (Table 10.6)
2.9 The main types of traffic through the major ports in 1999 were crude petroleum (89 million tonnes), petroleum products and gas (12.4 million tonnes), crude minerals (5.5 million tonnes), and coal, coke and briquettes (4.7 million tonnes). In addition, non-oil traffic with UK off-shore installations totalled 3.0 million tonnes, and container and roll-on traffic 4.2 million tonnes. (Table 10.7)
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 39% and 33% respectively between 1989 and 1999. (Table 10.8)
2.11 Inland waterway traffic mainly comprises those parts of coastwise, one-port and foreign traffic that are carried on inland waterways. About 9.5 million tonnes of freight were lifted in Scotland and carried on inland waterways in 1999, slightly below the level of 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 10.9)
2.12 In 1999, 570,000 vehicles and 2.6 million passengers were carried on ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland, the busiest Scottish port for traffic to and from Northern Ireland being Stranraer, which accounted for about three fifths of the total. (Table 10.11)
2.13 Caledonian MacBrayne ferries carried almost 4.8 million passengers in 2000, 26,000 (0.5%) fewer than in the previous year. There were 917,000 cars carried, 22,000 (2%) more than in 1999, and 88,000 commercial vehicles, 8,000 (8%) fewer than in 1999. 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 1990 to 4.8 million in 2000. However, if the Kyle-Kyleakin service is excluded, the total number of passengers on all of the other services rose by 62,000 (1%), from just over 4.7 million in 1990 to almost 4.8 million in 2000. (Table 10.12 and Table10.13)
2.14 The number of passengers carried by P&O Scottish Ferries in 2000 was 239,000, 3,000 (1%) fewer than in 1999, but 8,000 (3%) higher than in 1990. Orkney Ferries services carried 278,000 passengers in 2000, 4,000 (1%) fewer than in the previous year, but 79% more than in 1990, when only 155,000 passengers were carried. (Table 10.12)
2.15 In 2000, the total number of passengers carried on Caledonian MacBrayne, P&O Scottish Ferries, and Orkney Ferries services was 5.3 million. Caledonian MacBrayne accounted for 90% of the total passenger numbers on all these services. Overall, revenue from users was about twice the amount of subsidy for Caledonian MacBrayne, one and a third times greater than the amount of subsidy for P&O Orkney and Shetland services but revenue from Orkney Ferries was only two-fifths of the amount of subsidy. (Table 10.13)
2.16 Shetland Islands Council services carried 674,000 passengers in 2000, 7,000 (1%) more than the previous year. There were 264,000 cars carried which was 12,000 (5%) more than in 1999. The equivalent figures for 1990 are not available. (Table 10.12)
2.17 Caledonian MacBrayne’s busiest route in terms of passengers in 2000 was Wemyss Bay-Rothesay, with 681,000 passengers, a 2% increase on the previous year, and an 8% increase on 1990. Wemyss Bay-Rothesay was also the company's busiest route for car traffic in 2000 with 126,000 car crossings, an increase of 8% over the previous year. (Table 10.13)
2.18 Of Orkney Ferries' services, the one between Kirkwall and Westray / Stronsay has shown the most rapid growth, with the number of passengers rising from 14,000 in 1990 to 86,000 in 2000. (Table 10.14)
2.19 In 2000, the Western Ferries service between Gourock and Dunoon carried 1,077,000 passengers, 14,000 (1%) more 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, but the figures on the old basis show a 47% increase between 1990 and 1999 (when 793,600 paying passengers were counted). The number of cars carried on this route was 451,000, an increase of 13,000 (3%) from 1999, and was 152,000 (51%) more than the number carried in 1990. (Table 10.14)
2.20 The service between Toft and Ulsta and Yell had the largest number of passengers of all the Shetland Islands Council services in 2000, with 211,000 in 2000, 6,000 (3%) more than in 1999. Equivalent figures for ten years earlier are not available. (Table 10.14)
2.21 HM Coastguard in Scotland rescued 1,079 people in 2000. 54 lives were lost. (Table 10.15)
3. Notes and Definitions
3.1 Coastwise traffic: 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 covers only freight lifted in Scotland, and therefore its figures for coastwise traffic exclude cargoes arriving from other UK ports.
3.2 One port traffic: traffic between the sea bed or an offshore installation (under British jurisdiction) 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 covers only freight lifted in Scotland, and therefore its figures for one port traffic exclude cargoes arriving from offshore installations and incoming sea dredged aggregates.
3.3 Foreign traffic: traffic between ports in the United Kingdom and other countries.
3.4 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.
3.5 Inland waterway traffic: subdivides into "coastwise", "one port" and "foreign" (in each case, that part of the traffic that is carried upstream of the inland waterway "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).
3.6 Tonne-kilometres: where part of a voyage is on an inland waterway 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 waterway" 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 waterway" and "coastwise" traffic.)
3.7 Domestic traffic: in the statistics of traffic through the ports, "domestic" traffic comprises coastwise traffic plus one port traffic.
3.8 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.
3.9 "Units" comprise containers, road goods vehicles (including unaccompanied trailers) and any railway wagons and barges carried on ships which are designed for their carriage.
3.10 Other traffic on roll-on services (ie "non-unit" traffic on roll-on services) includes cars, lorries, caravans, tractors and so forth which are being imported or exported, and goods carried on trailers which are limited to ship or port use 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, Local Government, and the Regions (DTLR). The Scottish Executive obtains shipping service information from Caledonian MacBrayne, P&O Scottish Ferries, Orkney Ferries 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 waterway traffic) are compiled by MDS-Transmodal Ltd under contract to the Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions.
4.2.2 A number of data sources are used to determine the level of coastwise traffic, including the tonnage of goods carried which are reported in the statutory port traffic returns (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 waterway boundary", so that there is no double-counting of tonne-kilometres between inland waterway 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 statistics complied from the port traffic returns, for reasons which are described in the DTLR Statistical Bulletin "Waterborne Freight in the United Kingdom".
4.2.3 The principal sources for the statistics of one port traffic are the port traffic returns (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 10.8)
4.3.1 Annual traffic returns are made to DTLR by port authorities and undertakings. The statistics are obtained, for the most part, from the records made by each port authority of the dues levied on goods passing through the port area. In some cases, port authorities have supplemented their own records with figures supplied by ship owners, shippers, and others.
4.3.2 With effect from 1995, the smaller ports (generally those with less than 2 million tonnes of traffic per year) are not required to supply detailed statistics - they provide only two figures, for the total amounts of their "inwards" and "outwards" traffic. Full details of freight traffic are 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 are 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.
4.4 Inland Waterways (Tables 10.9 and 10.10)
4.4.1 Statistics of inland waterways are compiled by MDS-Transmodal Ltd under contract to the Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions. The sources of data include the port traffic returns to DTLR, statistics from British Waterways, information about vessel movements, and other surveys. 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 10.11 to 10.14)
4.5.1 The Scottish Executive obtains shipping service information from DTLR (in respect of the services between Scotland and Northern Ireland). The Scottish Executive writes directly to Caledonian MacBrayne, P&O Scottish Ferries, Orkney Ferries and the other major ferry operators in Scotland for the required information.
4.6 HM Coastguard Statistics (Table 10.15)
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 GB water transport statistics can be found in the annual DTLR (former DETR) publications "Maritime Statistics", "Waterborne Freight in the UK" and "Transport Statistics Great Britain".
5.2 For further information on water freight transport statistics contact Mr John Ryan, Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions (tel: 0207 944 4443).
5.3 For further information on shipping services in Scotland contact Mr Alastair Douglas, The Scottish Executive Transport Statistics Branch (tel: 0131 244 7255)
5.4 For further information on HM Coastguard statistics contact Mr W Smith, Maritime and Coastguard Agency (tel: 023 8032 9416)
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