In 2023, 8 million passengers and 13 million tonnes of cargo passed through the harbours of Tallinna Sadam. The annual number of passengers increased by 13%, or 900,000 passengers, recovering from the movement restrictions related to the pandemic. Compared to last year, the cargo volume decreased by 29%, or 5 million tonnes, due to the implementation of sanctions on Russian and Belarussian cargo and general economic downturn. The number of vessel calls was relatively stable, decreasing by only 1.5% to 7,026 visits. The number of passengers between the Estonian mainland and the main islands increased by 5% reaching an all-time record. The number of charter days of the icebreaker Botnica decreased by 4% due to the shorter period of summer charters.

In Q4, 1.8 million passengers visited the harbours of Tallinna Sadam and 3.1 million tonnes of cargo was handled. Compared to Q4 2022, the passenger volume increased by 5% supported by Finnish routes, whereas the cargo volume decreased by 21%. The number of vessel calls increased by 6% to 1,693 calls, as the passenger ship Victoria I was added to the Tallinn-Helsinki line from October. The number of passengers and vehicles travelling between the Estonian mainland and the main islands grew by 2-3%. The utility rate of the icebreaker Botnica was 67%, growing by 20 percentage points.

According to Valdo Kalm, chairman of the management board of Tallinna Sadam, the steady recovery of the passenger business continues at the expected pace. "Thanks to the increase in the number of passengers, today we have two additional departures per day to Finland compared to the end of last year, which has a definite positive effect on our revenue base. The number of cruise ship calls decreased, but as the occupancy rate of cruise ships improved significantly, the volume of cruise passengers was almost at the same level as last year. Most of the decrease in cargo volume continues to be related to the decrease in cargo of Russian origin, mainly in liquid bulk. In 2022, the sanctions were applied gradually during the year until December, and thus there are still goods of Russian origin in the comparison period. The main reason for the decrease in other cargo types is the general economic situation of both Estonia and our main trading partners," said Kalm.

In 2023, people travelled to the Estonian islands with the ferries more than ever, i.e. the number of trips, passengers and transported vehicles increased. The decrease in utilization rate of the icebreaker Botnica was due to the shorter charter period of the Baffinland project, so Botnica participated in three different shorter summer work projects, serving Equinor in June, British Petroleum in August, and moving to the usual Baffinland charter in northern Canada in early September.

The operational volumes of Tallinna Sadam group for 2023 Q4 and 12 months are presented in the following table. The data for the Q4 2023 are preliminary as of 09.01.2024. The final volumes for the period may be specified and will be published in the following financial report.

  Q4 2023 Q4 2023 Change 2023  2022 Change
Cargo volume by type of cargo
(th tonnes)		 3 052 3 874 -21,2% 12 586 17 761 -29,1%
Ro-ro 1 492 1 654 -9,8% 6 406 6 891 -7,0%
Liquid bulk 400 835 -52,1% 1 698 5 160 -67,1%
Dry bulk 595 765 -22,3% 2 161 2 947 -26,7%
Containers 473 472 0,4% 1 878 2 120 -11,4%
in TEUs 58 850 60 664 -3,0% 221 405 267 752 -17,3%
General cargo 91 134 -32,4% 418 611 -31,6%
Non-marine 0 14 -97,1% 24 32 -23,5%
             
Number of passengers by routes (th) 1 771 1 690 4,8% 7 918 7 027 12,7%
Tallinn-Helsinki 1 596 1 522 4,8% 7 000 6 155 13,7%
Tallinn-Stockholm 125 125 0,3% 537 454 18,3%
Muuga-Vuosaari 38 29 28,5% 170 158 7,8%
Cruise (traditional) 0 2 -100,0% 165 172 -4,3%
Other 12 11 10,4% 45 87 -47,8%
             
Number of vessel calls by vessel type 1 693 1 600 5,8% 7 026 7 130 -1,5%
Cargo vessels 314 327 -4,0% 1 380 1 458 -5,3%
Passenger vessels (incl. Ro-Pax) 1 379 1 272 8,4% 5 548 5 493 1,0%
Cruise vessels (traditional) 0 1 -100,0% 98 179 -45,3%
             
Ferries*                                            
(Saaremaa and Hiiumaa lines)		            
Number of trips 5 085 5 047 0,8% 22 972 22 842 0,6%
Passengers (th) 457 447 2,2% 2 411 2 299 4,9%
Vehicles (th) 231 225 2,7% 1 133 1 097 3,3%
             
Icebreaker Botnica            
Charter days 62 43 44,2% 240 249 -3,6%
Utility rate (%) 67% 47% 44,2% 66% 68% -3,6%

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. 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.

Additional information:

Marju Zirel
Head of Investor Relations
Tel. +372 5342 6591

m.zirel@ts.ee

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  • TS KPI Q4 2023 ENG

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