Sea and coastal freight water transport revenue in the United Kingdom 2010-2022

Compared to a decade ago, the indices for total tonnage of goods transported through major ports within the UK have witnessed a 17 percent decline. Additionally, liquid bulk trade has witnessed a marked decline over the years, owing to the falling demand for bulk fuels such as crude oil and coal, which make majority of the port traffic. These factors have not augured well for the UK’s sea and coastal freight water transport industry, with revenues projected to decline from 6.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 6.7 billion U.S. dollars by 2022. The fleet size of trading vessels has also declined from 604 in 2009 to 474 as of 2018.

The port of Grimsby & Immingham in Yorkshire and the Humber region is the largest port in the country, having handled roughly 54.03 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2018. The port of London is the second largest, followed by the port of Southampton, Liverpool and Milford Haven. With respect to cruise travel, the port of Southampton is the leading port, followed by the port of Dover.