Port of Tallinn serves record-setting 10.2 million passengers in 2016
Ports of Estonia's state-owned Port of Tallinn served a record-setting 10.2 million passengers last year, a 3.9 percent increase over 2015 numbers.
Port of Tallinn passenger numbers have steadily grown over the last nine years, achieving new record levels every year, board member Margus Vihman said. "We believe in continued growth," Vihman said in a press release. "According to forecasts, the 11 million passenger mark will be crossed within the next five years."
The most popular service in 2016 was the Tallinn-Helsinki route, which saw 8.51 million passengers, accounting for 84 percent of total passenger flows. The number of passengers traveling the route increased by 3.6 percent over the year.
Passengers traveling on the Tallinn-Stockholm route numbered 982,325, up 3.5 percent from the previous year, and passenger flows on the St. Petersburg route surged 31.2 percent to 163,478. The Swedish and Russian routes accounted for 10 and one percent of all passengers, respectively.
Cruise passengers made up five percent of all passengers served by the Port of Tallinn in 2016. Cruise tourists numbered 509,730, which represents a year-over-year increase of 1.1 percent.
Listed Estonian shipper Tallink carried six million passengers, accounting for 59 percent of total passenger numbers. Viking Line carried two million passengers (20 percent), Eckerö Line 1.5 million (14 percent) and St. Peterline 163,478 passengers (two percent).
In December 2016, Port of Tallinn served a total of 811,274 passengers, 5.5 percent more than in December 2015. Tallink's share was 61 percent of passengers, with Viking Line, Eckerö Line and St. Peterline carrying 21, 17 and one percent of passengers, respectively.
Ports belonging to the Port of Tallinn were called upon 420 times by passenger ships during December and a total of 5,579 times in 2016.
The company expects to serve 10.5 million passengers in 2017.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS