Maritime Statistics Directive reporting information
Guide for shipping lines, their agents and ports to complete statistical returns on maritime freight traffic through ports.
Documents
Details
Information for shipping lines, their agents and ports to complete statistical returns on maritime freight traffic through UK ports. The legal powers to collect these data are by means of a statutory instrument (number 2330 of 1997) under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.
If companies persist in refusing to provide the necessary information there is the provision for a fine of up to £2,500 for each instance of non-reporting.
The Maritime Statistics Directive
The Maritime Statistics Directive is a piece of European Union legislation passed in December 1995 Council Directive 96/64/EC which requires Member States to supply to the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) information relating to maritime traffic through its’ ports.
The directive requires the government to make collection obligatory in the United Kingdom. The directive was ‘recast’ in 2009, bringing together the original directive and various subsequent amendments in one document. The legal powers in the UK are by means of a statutory instrument (number 2330 of 1997) under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.
If companies persist in refusing to provide the necessary information there is the provision for a fine of up to £2,500 for each instance of non-reporting.
How the data is used
The UK government has collected statistics on port traffic in the UK since the 1960s. These have been used by government, business and the wider public in developing and debating maritime transport policy and in planning operations and new ventures. Department for Transport publishes UK data. Eurostat publishes Europe-wide data, DfT no longer provide UK data to Eurostat.
What data is collected, by whom and how often
Detailed data on freight traffic is collected for ‘major’ UK ports (ports handling more than one million tonnes of freight per annum).
This detailed data includes:
- the reporting port
- the Lloyds Register Number (or IMO Number) for the vessel
- the direction of movement (inwards or outwards) *port of loading for inwards cargo or unloading for outwards cargo
- for unitised traffic, the type of units (container, accompanied trailer, unaccompanied trailer etc.)
- whether they are loaded or empty units
- the number of units and the freight tonnage
- for other traffic, the broad product group and freight tonnage
This data must be provided at least quarterly, primarily by shipping lines or their agents. In addition, the ‘major’ port authorities must provide the following information to confirm the completeness of the data collected from shipping lines and agents on a ‘retrospective’ quarterly basis:
- the names of all shipping lines and agents using their port
- the gross weight and number of units of goods in and out of their port
Data for other ports, handling less than 1 million tonnes a year, is being provided only annually in summary form by port authorities.
For more information, see the administrative rules.
How the data is collected
Data providers can supply the data, by:
- entering the data through web based forms
- submitting ASCII data files in a DfT approved format
- sending the data automatically via a Port Community System, the ports at which this is currently available are Southampton and Felixstowe.
For more details see submission methods and administrative rules.
Contact us
For enquiries, please contact:
Department for Transport
Maritime Statistics Branch
Department for Transport
Zone 2/29
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
Tel: 020 7944 4441
Last updated 8 January 2020 + show all updates
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Update to the data collection forms used by port freight suppliers.
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Administrative rules and categorisation documents updated.
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First published.