In 2022, 7 million passengers and 18 million tonnes of cargo passed through the harbours of Tallinna Sadam. The annual number of passengers increased by 98%, or 3.5 million passengers, recovering from the movement restrictions related to the pandemic. Compared to last year, the cargo volume decreased by 21%, or 4.6 million tons, due to the implementation of sanctions on Russian and Belarussian cargo. The decline in liquid bulk and dry bulk volumes due to sanctions was somewhat offset by growth in all other cargo types. The number of vessel calls was relatively stable, decreasing by only 2% to 7,130 visits. The number of passengers between the Estonian mainland and the main islands recovered increased by 4%. The number of charter days of the icebreaker Botnica decreased by 7% due to the shorter charter period of the Canadian project in Q4.
In Q4, 1.7 million passengers visited the harbours of Tallinna Sadam and 3.9 million tonnes of cargo was handled. Compared to Q4 2021, the passenger volume increased by 39% supported by Helsinki and Stockholm lines, whereas the cargo volume decreased by 17%. The number of vessel calls decreased by 12% to 1600 calls, being affected by the decrease in cargo volumes and changes of chartering and sales of passenger ships by passenger operators. The number of passengers travelling between the Estonian mainland and the main islands remained at the same level and the number of vehicles decreased by 5%. The utility rate of the icebreaker Botnica was 47%, a decrease of 30 percentage points.
According to Valdo Kalm, chairman of the management board of Tallinna Sadam, the recovery of passenger business continues at a faster pace than expected. "The number of passengers has doubled in a year, and a brand new, larger ship m/s MyStar was added to the Helsinki line in December, which will continue to support the growth of the passenger business. Today, we have managed to recover to 72% of the pre-pandemic level," said Kalm. "We are very happy that despite St. Petersburg's disappearance from the cruise map, 170 thousand cruise tourists found their way to Tallinn and 2,000 to Saaremaa again, which is in total three times more than last year," said Kalm.
In terms of cargo volumes, the growth of ro-ro, container and general cargo volumes continues, but the overall cargo volume has decreased due to the sanctions imposed on Russia. Sanctions affect the handling of liquid cargo and fertilizers (bulk), from December the European Union embargo on oil and oil products of Russian origin came into force in Estonia.
People travelled to the Estonian islands with the ferries more than a year before. The icebreaker Botnica continued the same course as last year but returned from the summer work in Canada a bit earlier than in 2021.
The operational volumes of Tallinna Sadam group for 2022 Q4 and 12 months are presented in the following table. The data for the Q4 2022 are preliminary as of 05.01.2023. The final volumes for the period may be specified and will be published in the following financial report.
| Q4 2022 | Q4 2021 | Change | 2022 | 2021 | Change | |
| Cargo volume by type of cargo (th tonnes) | 3 874 | 4 688 | -17,4% | 17 761 | 22 397 | -20,7% |
| Ro-ro | 1 654 | 1 671 | -1,0% | 6 891 | 6 488 | 6,2% |
| Liquid bulk | 835 | 1 441 | -42,1% | 5 160 | 8 837 | -41,6% |
| Dry bulk | 765 | 956 | -20,0% | 2 947 | 4 693 | -37,2% |
| Containers | 472 | 502 | -6,0% | 2 120 | 1 893 | 12,0% |
| in TEUs | 60 664 | 60 536 | 0,2% | 267 752 | 226 689 | 18,1% |
| General cargo | 134 | 118 | 13,4% | 611 | 485 | 26,1% |
| Non-marine | 14 | 0 | - | 32 | 1 | 3853,1% |
| Number of passengers by routes (th) | 1 690 | 1 215 | 39,0% | 7 027 | 3 542 | 98,4% |
| Tallinn-Helsinki | 1 522 | 1 059 | 43,7% | 6 155 | 3 012 | 104,3% |
| Tallinn-Stockholm | 125 | 103 | 21,6% | 454 | 208 | 118,3% |
| Muuga-Vuosaari | 29 | 31 | -5,5% | 158 | 130 | 21,8% |
| Cruise (traditional) | 2 | 9 | -75,3% | 172 | 63 | 172,8% |
| Other | 11 | 13 | -16,0% | 87 | 129 | -32,7% |
| Number of vessel calls by vessel type | 1 600 | 1 809 | -11,6% | 7 130 | 7 333 | -2,8% |
| Cargo vessels | 327 | 367 | -10,9% | 1 458 | 1 654 | -11,9% |
| Passenger vessels (incl. Ro-Pax) | 1 272 | 1 436 | -11,4% | 5 493 | 5 634 | -2,5% |
| Cruise vessels (traditional) | 1 | 6 | -83,3% | 179 | 45 | 297,8% |
| Ferries* (Saaremaa and Hiiumaa lines) | ||||||
| Passengers (th) | 447 | 445 | 0,3% | 2 299 | 2 204 | 4,3% |
| Vehicles (th) | 225 | 238 | -5,3% | 1 097 | 1 100 | -0,2% |
| Icebreaker Botnica | ||||||
| Charter days | 43 | 61 | -29,5% | 249 | 267 | -6,7% |
| Utility rate (%) | 47% | 66% | -29,5% | 68% | 73% | -6,7% |
*Ferry traffic volumes show the general demand for the service, but do not directly affect the financial results of the ferry segment, as the fee is fixed in the service contract regardless of the number of passengers and vehicles served.
More detailed statistics of passengers by nationality, gender and routes on monthly basis, can be viewed on the Tallinna Sadam web page: https://www.ts.ee/en/statistics/. We now also publish quarterly key figures in xlsx format: https://www.ts.ee/en/investor/key-figures/
Detailed statistics on the number of passengers and vehicles on passenger ferries: https://www.praamid.ee/wp/statistics/
Tallinna Sadam is one of the largest cargo- and passenger port complexes in the Baltic Sea region, which serves annually 10 million passengers and 20 million tons of cargo in average. In addition to passenger and freight services, Tallinna Sadam group also operates in shipping business via its subsidiaries - OÜ TS Laevad provides ferry services between the Estonian mainland and the largest islands, and OÜ TS Shipping charters its multifunctional vessel Botnica for icebreaking and construction services in Estonia and offshore projects abroad. Tallinna Sadam group is also a shareholder of an associate AS Green Marine, which provides waste management services. The group's sales in 2021 totalled EUR 110 million, adjusted EBITDA EUR 54 million and profit EUR 26 million.
Additional information:
Marju Zirel
Head of Investor Relations
Tel. +372 5342 6591
m.zirel@ts.ee
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- 2022 Q4 KPI ENG
