Seaborne trade between Finland and foreign countries increased by almost 6 million tonnes in 2016
In 2016, the volume of goods transported in international seaborne trade totalled 94.9 million tonnes, which was 5.7 million tonnes more than in 2015, says the Finnish Transport Agency. There was also a sig-nificant increase in passenger volumes. This information is available in the recent 2016 statistics on international shipping.
The export volumes transported in international seaborne trade were 48.4 million tonnes, or 8.3 per cent more than in 2015. Imports accounted for 46.5 million tonnes. The import volumes grew by 4.5 per cent.
Regarding exports, there was especially a boost in the transport volumes of oil products, ores and concentrates, sawn timber, pulp and products of the chemical industry. Regarding imports, the growth especially pertained to crude oil, coal, metals and general cargo.
In 2016, the number of vessels calling at Finnish ports amounted to almost 30,500, which was 0.7 per cent more than the previous year. The share of vessels that were Finnish, about 10,200, remained at the same level.
In transit traffic through Finnish ports, exports increased by seven per cent, whereas imports decreased by 4.1 per cent. The volumes transported in transit traffic totalled at 6.7 million tonnes, which was an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to 2015.
The number of seaborne passengers in international maritime transport totalled at about 18.9 million in 2016. This was an increase of 1.7 per cent compared to 2015.
Passenger volumes to and from Estonia grew by four per cent, and the number of passengers amounted to 8.76 million. A total of 8.84 passengers travelled by sea to and from Sweden, an increase of 0.1 per cent compared to the previous year. In international maritime transport, Sweden is still a slightly more popular destination than Estonia. A total of 814,000 passengers on foreign-flagged cruise ships visited Finland in 2016. This was 68,000 passengers less than in 2015.