National statistics

Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2021

Published 22 February 2022

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About this release

This statistical release provides estimates for the number of UK nationals working as seafarers, including some demographic breakdowns. The release also covers some statistics on non-UK national seafarers who are qualified to work on registered vessels. These statistics are updated annually and reflect numbers as of 30th June 2021 for both the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the UK Chamber of Shipping (CoS) data.

Main points

After adjusting for non-response, an estimated 21,970 UK seafarers were active at sea in 2021, an 8% decrease compared to 23,880 in 2020. This decrease is related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on maritime training and maritime operations.

Chart 1: UK seafarers active at sea by type, 2021 (SFR0101)

In 2021, the number of UK seafarers active at sea by type was (chart 1):

• 9,670 certificated Officers
• 9,490 Ratings
• 1,740 Officer Cadets
• 1,070 uncertificated Officers

To note for 2021 figures:

The measures put in place to limit the transmission of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted the seafarer figures covered in this release. The closure of business and operations is expected to have limited the sea time available to seafarers which is required to apply for certificates. Additionally, those in training may not have been able to attend their courses and training due to closure of colleges and training centres. Similarly, reduced access to exam centres may have reduced applications for certificates from trainee Officers.

Finally, under the Manila Amendments, there was a large increase in seafarers revalidating their certificates in 2016. These certificates are usually issued every 5 years meaning that there may have been a larger proportion of expiring certificates in 2021. As is the case every year, some seafarers will not need to revalidate their certificates (due to retirement, change in employment). This may also cause a reduction in the number of seafarers in 2021.

There has been an overall downward trend in the number of UK seafarers over the past 15 years. However, between 2012 and 2021 numbers have been broadly stable with the exception of an increase in 2018 (due to a large increase in Ratings related to changes in the CoS membership) and a decrease in 2021 (related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic).

The majority of UK seafarers active at sea were male (82%), with larger female representation in uncertificated Officers and Ratings.

There were 35,430 certificates to work on UK vessels issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in 2021, 13,300 of these were UK nationals. These figures had been broadly stable between 2010 and 2020 but saw a decline in 2021.

Seafarer statistics publications

This release presents a range of statistics relating to the number of seafarers working in the UK shipping industry, including the best current estimate of the number of UK nationals active at sea. These figures are used to monitor broad trends in employment of seafarers and are used by the Department for Transport, Government, industry bodies and trade unions.

The publication data comes from two sources. Certification data comes from the seafarer documentation system provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), this data is presented in the SFR02 series of tables. The second data source is the seafarer employment survey run by the UK Chamber of Shipping, this data is presented in the SFR03 series of tables. Both data sources are used to produce estimates for UK seafarers active at sea which is presented in SFR0101 (infographic 1).

Infographic 1: Graphical representation of publication data

Data sources

This release presents figures from 2 main data sources.

In section 2, data on Officers who have certificates which allow them to work in the UK shipping industry is presented. This is derived from data held by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in their Seafarer Documentation System. These figures should provide good estimates of seafarers with certificates; however, it is not possible to tell from the data whether individuals are active at sea. Therefore, it is assumed that 84% of those holding certificates are active at sea and that their retirement age is 62. See accompanying technical note for more information on methodology.

In section 3, data collected via the annual Seafarer Employment Survey conducted by the UK Chamber of Shipping (CoS) of their members is presented. This provides seafarer employment figures for member companies, of all ranks, which has been adjusted to consider non-response of member companies. Details about the methodology used can be found in the 2020 Seafarer publication. As non-adjusted figures can impact trends over time, it is recommended to use the adjusted figures even though they are not badged as National Statistics.

The two sources are combined to produce an estimate of UK seafarers active at sea as set out in section 1 - the best estimate of UK nationals working at sea in ‘merchant navy’ roles. This includes any UK national working on a registered vessel in a regular sea-going capacity (excluding fishing vessels).

Other relevant information is presented where possible, including on Officer Cadets (from MCA, section 2), maritime apprenticeships (Department for Education, section 4) and seafarer projections to present the fullest range of available statistics on seafarers.

Coverage and key definitions

Coverage These statistics relate to the UK shipping industry, though this is not easy to define precisely. MCA data relates to Officers of all nationalities who hold certificates to work on UK registered vessels; CoS data relates to member companies, which typically means that they will have some interest or base in the UK (though the seafarers they employ may work on vessels registered in another country). Tug owner companies were included for the first time in the 2018 figures and have been included since.

Active at sea This statistical release refers to seafarers ‘active at sea’. This is defined as any seafarer working regularly in a sea-going activity. This release assumes 16% of certificated seafarers are not currently active at sea (United Kingdom Seafarers Analysis 2004, D Glen, J Dowden and R Wilson, London Metropolitan).

Time period covered MCA and CoS data reflects the industry as of June 30 of each year.

Trends over time These figures are intended to provide broad indications of trends over time, however CoS data can fluctuate for a number of reasons including changes in CoS membership or in the industry, or survey non-response. Adjustments were made to account for survey non-response for the first time in 2020, details of which can be found in the 2020 Seafarer publication. Changes in CoS membership can still affect trends and can still cause year-on-year fluctuation.

Section 1: Overview of UK seafarers, 2021

To serve as a certificated Officer on a merchant ship, a Certificate of Competency (CoC) or Certificate of Equivalent Competency (CEC) must be obtained - in the UK these are issued by the MCA.

Trainee Officers, or Cadets, are not part of a ship’s crew but are on board to gain experience.

Uncertificated Officers are those without certificates who are employed in technical or catering/hotel functions, mainly in the cruise and ferry sectors.

Ratings are semi-skilled experienced workers who are not required to revalidate their competencies as certificated Officers are, or other staff without maritime training (for example, hotel and catering staff).

An estimated 21,970 UK seafarers were active at sea in 2021.

This estimated figure is based on returns from the CoS which have been adjusted for non-response and MCA certificate data. Ratings and uncertificated Officers active at sea estimates are based on adjusted data from the CoS survey, with Cadet estimates based on MCA data. Certificated Officer estimates are also based on MCA data with an active at sea and retirement assumption applied. The ‘active at sea’ assumption has not been changed to account for Officers who might be on furlough during the coronavirus pandemic and so these seafarers will still be included in CoS company employment figures and MCA certificate data.

Figures for 2021 show there was an estimated 9,670 certificated Officers, 1,070 uncertificated Officers and 9,490 Ratings active at sea, with a further 1,740 Officer Cadets in training at sea in the financial year ending 2021.

Chart 2: UK seafarers active at sea by type, 2012 to 2021 (SFR0101)

The total number of seafarers active at sea has remained broadly stable between 2012 and 2017 at around 24,000. There was an increase in 2018 following which figures returned to normal levels in 2019 and 2020 but decreased further in 2021. Similarly, the number of Ratings has fluctuated around 10,000, with an increase in 2018. The increase in 2018 partly reflects changes in membership of the CoS. This affects the number of Ratings recorded in particular. Thus, the interpretation of these trends should be made with caution. The number of certificated Officers has remained stable at about 11,000 between 2012 and 2020 with a decline in 2021. Figures for both Officer Cadets and uncertificated Officers have remained consistently below 2,000 with no major changes in trend (chart 2).

In 2021, the closure of business, colleges, and exam centres may have reduced the opportunity for seafarers to gain sufficient sea time or training time required to apply for their certificates. This may have led to a decrease in the number of seafarers active at sea in 2021.

These figures do not capture all UK seafarers active at sea. Ratings and uncertificated Officers employed by CoS non-member companies are omitted; past attempts to collect data from non-member companies suggest that they employ some UK seafarers though a relatively small number of UK nationals compared to CoS members. No attempt is made to adjust for seafarers collected in the CoS survey where nationality is not recorded. Taken together, these factors could mean that the total number of UK seafarers is undercounted by a few thousand.

Section 2: certificated Officers and Officer Cadets (MCA data)

Seafarer certification

Under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW95), seafarers performing deck or engine Officer roles on commercial vessels are required to hold a Certificate of Competency (CoC) or equivalent.

Non-UK Officers graduating from UK colleges obtain the same CoC as UK nationals. Some non-UK CoC holders will proceed to work on UK registered vessels while others will use the UK CoC to work on non-UK registered vessels.

Officers with training from outside the UK are required to hold a certificate of Equivalent Competency (CEC) before working as a deck or engine Officer on a UK registered vessel.

In 2021, data on non-UK Electro-technical Officers (ETOs) was collected for the first time. These will be included in future publications, but it does not affect the trends of UK ETOs.

The estimates in this section make no assumptions about whether seafarers holding certificates are active at sea.

As of July 2021, 35,430 seafarers held seafarer certificates issued by the MCA, including 22,270 Certificates of Competency (CoCs) and 9,470 Certificates of Equivalent Competency (CECs). Of these certificates, 13,300 were held by UK nationals.

UK nationals made up 38% of certificates issued by the MCA. Non-UK nationals with CoCs made up 31% of certificates issued, and non-UK nationals with CECs made up 27% of certificate issued (chart 3).

These figures relate to certificates issued, and some of those holding certificates will not be working at sea. It is likely that many UK nationals with CoCs and those holding CECs will be working on UK flagged ships, or in the UK industry, however this is less likely for non-UK nationals who obtain CoCs in the UK.

Chart 3: Seafarer certificates issued by MCA held in July 2021 (SFR0203)

The numbers have decreased across all types of certificates this year, related to the impacts of COVID-19; seafarers may have been unable to obtain the sea service they require due to the restrictions in place around the world during the pandemic.

UK and non-UK Officers

The majority of UK nationals with certificates held CoCs (11,420), with a further 1,570 holding yacht certificates, 240 Tug and Inshore Craft (TIC) certificates and 70 CECs.

Of those with CoCs, the trends over time in the numbers holding deck and engine certificates have been similar, with generally slightly more deck Officers than engine Officers. Both deck and engine certificates saw similar decreases in 2021 compared to the previous year – 13% and 14% respectively. This may be related to the requirements on sea time and training time mentioned previously.

Yacht certificates decreased less than other types of certificates which may reflect differences in the proximity and availability of yacht training courses and requirements to receive certificates.

The vast majority (96%) of UK Officers with CoCs were male in 2021. This varied from 95% of deck Officers to 98% of engineering Officers. The proportions of deck and engineers that are male has remained the same since 2018.

In 2021, there were more UK nationals holding CoCs than non-UK nationals holding CECs in age groups under 35 and over 55 years old. There were more non-UK nationals holding CECs in age groups between 35 and 55 years old (chart 4). The ageing profile of UK seafarers was one of the issues identified in the 2015 Maritime Growth Study.

Chart 4: Age distribution of UK Officers with CoCs and non-UK Officers with CECs, 2021 (SFR0202)

The number of non-EEA (European Economic Area) certificates decreased the most (-22%) compared to UK (-13%) and EEA (-14%) certificates. This may be because the travel restrictions in place during the pandemic may have posed more obstacles to non-EEA nationals travelling to the UK for work or to undertaking their academic courses or training.

The EEA is comprised of the EU and Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein.

Officer trainees

Cadets can take up to 4 years complete their training. The training costs of eligible new entrants are supported by the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme.

The figures shown here are produced from monthly financial claims submitted to the MCA by training providers (sponsoring companies). Estimates of the total number of Cadets in training are calculated as an average of the number in training in each month of the financial year.

The number of Officer Cadets in training increased following the introduction of the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme. This increased drastically as new entrants to the programme increased in the financial year ending 2006. The number of Cadets continued to increase until the reduction to SMarT funding, following which the number of new entrants decreased in financial year ending 2013. Since then, the number of Cadets continuing in training has been decreasing while the number of SMarT entrants has remained stable since, except for the decrease in financial year ending 2021 (chart 5).

Chart 5: Officer trainees, financial year ending 1999 to financial year ending 2021 (SFR0206)

The estimated number of Officer Cadets in training for the financial year ending 2021 was 1,740. This is slightly higher (5%) than the previous financial year. This may be related to less Cadets being able to complete their courses due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning more cadets are still in training. In the same year, the number of new entrants under the SMarT scheme was 560 which is lower (-25%) than the previous financial year. The number of UK cadets entering training this year has decreased due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Additional data supplied by MCA highlighted that 11% of new SMarT1 entrants in financial year ending 2021 were female, down from 14% in financial year ending 2020.

Section 3: seafarers active at sea in the UK industry (CoS members)

In 2021, after adjusting for survey non-response, it is estimated that UK nationals accounted for 16% of the 103,590 seafarers active at sea working for companies within the membership of the UK Chamber of Shipping. Of these UK nationals, 82% were male and 47% were aged 40 to 61.

In 2021, the number of certificated Officers has decreased by 20% whereas the number of uncertificated Officers has decreased by 17% compared to 2020.

CoS Seafarer Employment Survey

The figures in this section are based on the UK Chamber of Shipping Seafarer Employment Survey (previously manpower survey), an annual survey carried out since 2002, which asks about crew employed including details of age, gender, and nationality.

The survey is essential for providing estimates of UK uncertificated Officers and Ratings active at sea. This data is unavailable from the MCA source which only provides information on certificates held by Officers.

The survey response rate of companies in scope of the survey for 2021 was 87%, a similar response rate to 2020.

The CoS data does not provide complete coverage of the UK shipping industry, and trends over time can be impacted by changes in membership or survey non-response. In the previous report, an adjustment method was introduced to account for survey non-response. The figures are still impacted by changes in membership. For example, if a large company decided to move its operations or crewing outside the UK, this could result in large fluctuations in the figures. However, the data provides the best available source for monitoring patterns and broad trends of employment in the UK shipping industry. The adjusted figures are presented in this section, as well as in the SFR03 series of tables. Final improvements to the adjustment method are outlined in Annex A.

Uncertificated Officers and Ratings

These Officers are mainly employed by the cruise and ferry industry where large scale changes can rapidly take place affecting employment patterns, causing these trends to be volatile. For example, the total number of Ratings in the catering/hotel/other sector has fluctuated the last 5 years. This is largely due to new companies joining and leaving the UK Chamber of Shipping.

Currently, technical Officers are considered uncertificated, but some may be certificated. There are plans to separate these out in future releases.

UK uncertificated Officers and Ratings: trends by type

The figures in this section are based on data from the CoS survey after it has been adjusted for non-response from member companies. These provide a better representation of seafarer employment in the Chamber. For details on this methodology please refer to Annex A in the 2020 Seafarer publication.

The number of UK uncertificated Officers in CoS companies is estimated to be 1,070 in 2021, accounting for around 7% of all UK seafarers active at sea. This proportion has been relatively stable since 2017 relative to all seafarers surveyed in those respective years.

There were an estimated 9,490 UK Ratings in 2021, accounting for 59% of UK seafarers active at sea in CoS companies in 2021. These figures have fluctuated around roughly 10,000 UK Ratings, with the exception of a 23% increase in 2018, explained by a large company moving their business to the UK in 2018 and the subsequent fall in 2019 by a different large company leaving the membership.

Chart 6: UK uncertificated Officers active at sea by type, adjusted for survey non-response, 2012 to 2021 (SFR0301)

UK uncertificated Officers include those in technical roles and those in catering/hotel/other categories. Overall, there has been a declining trend in the number of seafarers in technical roles whereas the number of UK uncertificated Officers in catering, hotel or other fluctuated between 2012 and 2018 but has been declining since (chart 6).

Chart 7: UK Ratings active at sea by type, adjusted for survey non-response, 2012 to 2021 (SFR0301)

The number of UK Ratings in engine and dual purpose roles have remained broadly stable between 2012 and 2021. There has been a small increase in UK Ratings in deck roles between 2012 and 2020 with a large decrease (-35%) in 2021. The number of Ratings in catering/hotel/other roles has fluctuated, particularly since 2016 (chart 7).

Overall, the number of Ratings decreased by 4% in 2021 compared to the previous year, a smaller decrease than certificated and uncertificated Officers. This is likely because of a cruise company joining the CoS which employed a large number of Ratings.

Age and gender profiles of UK seafarers active at sea

In 2021, 47% of UK seafarers were aged 40 to 61. However, deck Ratings tended to be older on average than other seafarers with 64% of this groups aged 40 to 61. In comparison, 38% of catering/hotel/other Ratings and 51% of uncertificated Officers were aged 40 to 61. While adjustments have been made for non-response, figures may fluctuate depending on CoS membership so trends should be interpreted with caution.

The majority of UK seafarers active at sea in 2021 were male (82%). When broken down by type (chart 8):

• 96% of certificated Officers were male
• 64% of uncertificated Officers were male
• 77% of Ratings were male.

Men accounted for an estimated 97% of deck and 99% of engine Ratings, compared with 63% for the catering/hotel/other Ratings group.

Chart 8: Gender distribution of UK seafarers active at sea (CoS members), 2021 (SFR0302)

Seafarers active at sea by nationality

Unknown seafarer nationality

Seafarer nationality was unknown for around 2% of the total recorded in the 2021 survey, with around 7% of uncertificated Officers not having nationality recorded, similar to previous years.

In 2021, an estimated 16% of the seafarers active at sea with CoS member companies were UK nationals, with 16% of seafarers being from EEA countries.

An estimated 38% of certificated Officers were from the UK, with 35% from EEA countries. In comparison, 12% of Ratings were UK nationals and a further 76% of this group were from outside the EEA (chart 9). Non-EEA Ratings increased substantially in 2021, primarily due to a company in the cruise sector joining the Chamber who employ a large number of non-EEA ratings.

Chart 9: Seafarers active at sea (CoS members) by type and nationality, 2021 (SFR0303)

Section 4: other information

This section briefly summarises data available on seafarers and trainees available from other published sources, in areas where users of these statistics have expressed interest.

Seafarer projections

Seafarer projections

The full report containing the latest UK seafarer projections was published in 2017.

A summary of the key findings from the projections was published alongside the 2016 seafarer statistics.

A data table showing the key projections is included as part of these statistics, table SFR0401.

The latest seafarer projections from 2016 to 2026 were published in 2017; although based on the same underlying data as presented in these statistics, numbers were the results of a modelling approach which made a number of adjustments and assumptions, and so are not directly comparable.

The figures projected an increase in the supply of UK Ratings, and a decrease in the supply of total UK Officers - though sensitivity scenarios were also produced. These projections were published before the coronavirus pandemic and so do not reflect any impact of the pandemic.

Chart 10: Sensitivity scenarios for the supply of UK seafarers, 2016 to 2026 (SFR0401)

Maritime apprenticeships

Information on the number of apprenticeship starts, numbers and achievements is published by the Department for Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency as part of their further education data library on apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are jobs with structured training which give apprentices a foundation to their career. Information on apprenticeships in the maritime sector is available via the Maritime Skills Alliance.

Currently limited statistics are available, but the latest show that the number of able seafarer (deck) apprenticeships starts was:

• 60 starts in the financial year ending 2018
• 50 starts in the financial year ending 2019
• 60 starts in the financial year ending 2020
• 40 starts in the financial year ending 2021 (link to data for all years)

These figures provide an indication of the number of Ratings currently being trained via apprenticeships, but there are other apprenticeships related to maritime where statistics are not readily available.

Annex A: accounting for survey non-response - methodology update

The previous ‘Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry 2020’ report covered a new methodology which was developed to account for survey non-response in the Seafarer Employment Survey conducted by the UK Chamber of Shipping (CoS). This method produced a set of experimental statistics which provided adjusted seafarer figures which included estimates for companies who did not respond to the survey. These statistics provided a better representation of seafarer employment in the Chamber.

This method used previous survey returns from non-responders combined with growth rates to estimate how many seafarers the non-responders would have in the current year. However, there were instances where companies had never provided a survey return. The previous report mentioned that the Department for Transport would be investigating the best method to account for these companies.

The options the Department for Transport have investigated are:

• option 1, which applies the mean seafarer employment figures per company
• option 2, which uses fleet data to calculate the average number of seafarers for companies of similar fleet sizes
• option 3, which investigates the use of safe manning documents which provide information about the minimum number of seafarers required to work on each ship.

The results of each option, and the final option used in this publication, are outlined below.

Option 1: applying the mean seafarer employment figures

This was the most straightforward option and involved calculating the mean number of seafarers per company for each breakdown presented in the published tables, and using the mean as an estimate for each missing company. This method does not take into account if a missing company is large or small as all missing companies would be given the same number of seafarers.

Option 2: using fleet data

This option involved linking the CoS survey data to the DfT shipping fleet data to get information about the gross tonnage of the ships that each company has in their fleet. The companies are then sorted into four groups based on the total gross tonnage of their fleet – for example the first group would have the companies with the smallest fleets and so on. This is to account for the non-linear relationship of gross tonnage and seafarer numbers.

This means that the mean number of seafarers can be calculated for each group. The number of groupings was based on having enough companies in each to group to produce a representative average. The companies who have never returned are then put into one of the groups depending on the total gross tonnage of their fleet and given the mean number of seafarers calculated for the particular group. This method means a proxy for that the size of the company is taken into account when estimating the number of seafarers for non-respondents.

Option 3: investigating the use of safe manning documents

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) hold safe manning documents for ships. These documents provide information about the minimum number of seafarers required to work on each ship and can be used as an estimate of the number of seafarers in a company. The Department requested these documents for companies that had not provided a return and found that the documents provided similar seafarer estimates to the fleet data method. However, the safe manning documents are not digitised and so the time taken to find the documents each year would not be feasible for the publication timescales.

The option used in this publication

Based on exploring the three options, the fleet data option has been incorporated into the adjustment methodology. This is because the estimates were similar to those in option 3, but the data source used is easy to access and feasible to integrate in the publication on a regular basis (unlike the safe manning documents). The fleet data option is also assessed to be better than option 1 because it takes into account the size of different companies (unlike option 1 which applies the same mean to all companies regardless of size).

Feedback and next steps

In this publication, the adjusted figures are provided in SFR0101 and the SFR03 series of published tables as an extra tab so that users can see the adjusted figures against the reported figures. In future releases, the Department for Transport is proposing to only present the adjusted figures, as this is assessed to be a more robust picture of trends. We welcome your feedback on this approach, and whether this meets your needs. If you wish to provide feedback, please contact maritime statistics.

Wider context

The figures in publication do not attempt to count everyone who works in a seagoing capacity in the UK; the focus is on the ‘merchant navy’ for which seafarer certification is managed by the MCA. There are other groups that are outside the scope of this publication but may be considered to be in seafarer roles.

Those in the Royal Navy, which has a regular trained strength of around 40,000 based on Ministry of Defence statistics (however the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is included in the above estimates).

There were an estimated 11,000 UK fishermen in 2020 based on statistics compiled by the Marine Management Organisation.

Most UK nationals working as crew aboard yachts will not be in scope of the above statistics (though Officers with MCA certificates to work on yachts will be included). Industry estimates place the number of UK nationals working in the superyachts sector at 19,000.

Those working on smaller vessels, such as those in companies belonging to the National Workboat Association, are unlikely to be covered though no estimate is available.

The MCA has issued 3,600 Boatmaster licences for work on inland waters and near coastal work over the 5 years to mid-2017.

Those working in roles on shore are also unlikely to be covered.

It is possible that seafarers can belong to more than one of these groups. Producing an overall estimate of all UK nationals working at sea from the available data is challenging.

Seafarers global supply

The seafarer workforce report 2021 from BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping provides an overview of the global supply and demand for seafarers in 2021.

Since the previous report in 2015, the supply of STCW certified seafarers available to the international trading world merchant fleet has increased, with both numbers of qualified Officers and Ratings continuing to grow. The number of STCW certified Officers is now estimated at 857,540, a percentage increase of 10.8% since 2015. Meanwhile, the report estimates an 18.5% increase in the number of STCW certified Ratings since 2015.

In 2021, UK seafarers were estimated to account for 1.8% of the global seafarer supply. This is an increase compared to the previous 2015 report in which UK seafarers were estimated to account for 0.9% of global supply.

The UK was the tenth most mentioned seafarer country for future recruitment by shipping companies.

Rank	Seafarer supply country
1	Ukraine
2	Myanmar
3	Philippines
4	India
5	China
6	Romania
7	Greece
8	Indonesia
9	Croatia
10	United Kingdom

Further information

Data tables

This release is a summary of a larger set of data tables, charts and documentation on seafarer statistics available from the Department for Transport website.

Technical and background quality information

A technical note (data sources, methods, definitions and data issues) and background quality report (quality of statistical outputs) can be found on the guidance page.

National Statistics

These statistics are badged as National Statistics meaning that they are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in February 2013. More information can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website.

The adjusted Chamber of Shipping statistics have not been badged as National Statistics. However, it is recommended to use them as an improvement of the previous estimates as it takes into account non-response in the survey coverage.

Details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release are available.

Next update

The next update in this annual series is provisionally scheduled for February 2023.

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