The container terminal at the port of Muuga handled 200,257 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo, 2.9 percent less than the year before, while the total weight of goods transported in containers increased 1.7 percent, the company said.

Transiidikeskus' general goods terminal handled 651,792 tons of piece and bulk goods, an increase of 35.4 percent from the previous year.

"Looking back at the past year's results, we're especially pleased that we managed to increase the freight turnover of the general gods terminal by more than a third," Transiidikeskus CEO Erik Laidvee said.

The transport operator is unhappy about the continued decline in container traffic, however. "We have analyzed the reasons for the drop and adjusted emphases in our long-term strategy accordingly," he noted. "The two main goals in 2017 are to launch the Muuga-Vuosaari ConRo shipping route and north-south and south-north container train traffic."

Transiidikeskus is eyeing an at least 15 percent increase in its terminals' total freight turnover this year. The company will continue investment in expanding infrastructure and acquiring new loading equipment. Three new warehouses to be finished in March at the latest will also raise the total area of enclosed storage space to 75,000 square meters.

Transiidikeskuse AS is a specialized container and general goods terminal operator at Estonia's main merchant port of Muuga, situated on the Gulf of Finland east of the capital of Tallinn.