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 1,600 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 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, 170,000 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 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.