Scotland's Marine Economic Statistics 2019
Statistics on the economic contributions of Scotland’s marine sectors in 2019. Includes a time series of Gross Value Added (GVA), turnover and employment for marine sectors. The supporting documents include: accessible tables, a summary topic sheet and a pdf version of the publication.
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9. Sea & coastal water transport
9.1 Introduction
This sector includes passenger and freight transport, though they are discussed separately. Inland water transport is not included. Sea and coastal water transport is an essential part of Scotland's transport network. It is key for connectivity and supports both island and mainland communities. One third of Scotland’s total freight tonnage, including exports, was carried by water transport in 2019[8].
Supplementary water transport information is taken from the Transport Scotland Scottish Transport Statistics publication, supported by data from the Department of Transport statistics.
9.2 Passenger water transport – description
Sea and coastal passenger water transport includes the transport of passengers on vessels designed for operating on sea or coastal waters.
It includes:
- transport of passengers over seas and coastal waters, whether scheduled or not,
- operation of excursion, cruise or sightseeing boats,
- operation of ferries, water taxis etc.,
- renting of pleasure boats with crew for sea and coastal water transport (e.g. for fishing cruises).
This class excludes:
- restaurant and bar activities on board ships, when provided by separate units,
- renting of pleasure boats and yachts without crew,
- renting of commercial ships or boats without crew,
- operation of “floating casinos”.
The sea and coastal water transport categories are not included in the Marine tourism sector so the values are not double counted.
9.3 Passenger water transport – economic key points
In 2019, passenger water transport generated £133 million in GVA: accounting for 0.09% of the overall Scottish economy and 3% of the marine economy GVA. The passenger water transport industry provided employment for 1,400 people (headcount), contributing 0.05% of the total Scottish employment and 2% of the marine economy employment.
9.4 Passenger water transport – trends
From 2018 to 2019, the GVA from passenger water transport (adjusted to 2019 prices) increased by 43%, while the longer term trend from 2010 to 2019 showed that passenger water transport GVA fluctuated from year to year, but rose by 44%. Employment in 2019 fell by 7% to 1,400 compared to 2018. From 2010 to 2019, employment fell by 7%.
| Year | GVA (millions of pounds) | Turnover (millions of pounds) | Employment headcount (thousands) | GVA per head (pounds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 93 | 277 | 1.5 | 61,690 |
| 2011 | 54 | 408 | 1.5 | 35,711 |
| 2012 | 104 | 350 | 1.5 | 69,656 |
| 2013 | 102 | 390 | 1.6 | 63,536 |
| 2014 | 137 | 361 | 1.8 | 76,246 |
| 2015 | 95 | 237 | 1.7 | 56,024 |
| 2016 | 66 | 183 | 1.4 | 46,832 |
| 2017 | 89 | 208 | 1.1 | 81,062 |
| 2018 | 93 | 316 | 1.5 | 61,950 |
| 2019 | 133 | 284 | 1.4 | 95,071 |
Transport Scotland statistics (Figure 13) show that the number of passengers in 2019 has increased by 4% from 2010, while the number of vehicles increased by 15%.
Source: Transport Scotland from ferry operators (not National Statistics)[9]
9.5 Passenger water transport – by geography
Transport Scotland report these services by operator rather than location, meaning that these statistics show a broad distribution of ferry business rather than a precise disaggregation. In 2019, around 52% of the passenger journeys were on the Caledonian MacBrayne services in the West of Scotland, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast. The next highest service was between Gourock and Dunoon, also on the West coast and carried 13% of passenger traffic, Shetland Island services carried 7% of passengers. The rest of the passengers carried in 2019 travelled on other services. The vehicle transport distribution is similar to passenger transport, with 45% on the Caledonian MacBrayne services in the West of Scotland, 19% between Gourock to Dunoon and 11% on Shetland Island services.
9.6 Freight water transport – description
This group includes the transport of freight on vessels designed for operating on sea or coastal waters. It includes:
- transport of freight over seas and coastal waters, whether scheduled or not,
- transport by towing or pushing of barges, oil rigs etc.,
- renting of vessels with crew for sea and coastal freight water transport.
It excludes:
- storage of freight,
- harbour operation and other auxiliary activities such as docking, pilotage, lighterage, vessel salvage,
- cargo handling,
- renting of commercial ships or boats without crew.
9.7 Freight water transport – economic key points
In 2019, freight water transport generated £229 million GVA: accounting for 0.15% of the overall Scottish economy and 4.5% of the marine economy GVA.
The freight water transport industry provided employment for around 400 people (headcount), contributing 0.02% of the total Scottish employment and 0.5% of the marine economy employment.
9.8 Freight water transport – trends
From 2018 to 2019, the GVA from freight water transport (adjusted to 2019 prices) increased by 128%, while the longer term trend from 2010 to 2019 showed that freight water transport GVA rose by 28%. This is a small sector so changes in a small number of businesses can have large effects on figures from one year to the next.
| Year | GVA (millions of pounds) | Turnover (millions of pounds) | Employment headcount (thousands) | GVA per head (pounds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 178 | 350 | 0.5 | 356,500 |
| 2011 | 201 | 406 | 0.5 | 402,725 |
| 2012 | 162 | 285 | 0.6 | 269,708 |
| 2013 | 82 | 391 | 0.6 | 136,211 |
| 2014 | 91 | 295 | 0.9 | 100,810 |
| 2015 | 90 | 258 | 0.6 | 149,676 |
| 2016 | 72 | 194 | 0.5 | 143,477 |
| 2017 | 44 | 121 | 0.5 | 88,750 |
| 2018 | 100 | 307 | 0.4 | 250,948 |
| 2019 | 229 | 385 | 0.4 | 572,250 |
From 2010 to 2019, employment fell by 20%, from 500 people in 2010 to 400 in 2019.
Figure 15 shows Transport Scotland’s statistics for the tonnage of freight traffic through Scottish ports. There were 67 million tonnes of freight handled by ports in Scotland in 2019, a 2% increase on 2018. However, between 2010 and 2019 the total tonnage of freight traffic through Scottish ports reduced by 21%.
Source: DfT Maritime and shipping statistics Table PORT0101.
9.9 Freight water transport – by geography
The highest freight traffic in 2019 was through Forth ports (40% of tonnage through the top 11 ports), Clyde ports (14%) and Sullom Voe (12%).
| Port | Tonnage | % of total tonnage through Scotland’s top 11 ports |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 4,195 | 7% |
| Cairnryan | 2,705 | 4% |
| Clyde | 8,801 | 14% |
| Cromarty Firth | 929 | 1% |
| Dundee | 503 | 1% |
| Forth | 25,221 | 40% |
| Glensanda | 6,646 | 11% |
| Orkney | 3,050 | 5% |
| Peterhead | 1,090 | 2% |
| Stranraer / Loch Ryan | 2,650 | 4% |
| Sullom Voe | 7,371 | 12% |
| TOTAL | 63,160 | 100% |
Source: Transport Scotland, Scottish Transport Statistics No 39 2020 Edition.
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