Key figures of maritimetransport in Finland
The majority of Finland’s foreign trade goods are transported by sea
In 2025, international maritime transport to and from Finland increased by 5% compared to 2024. A total of 90.2 million tonnes of goods were transported. Exports increased by 11% to 45.2 million tonnes, while imports decreased by 1% to 45.0 million tonnes. A similarly significant increase in maritime transport volumes was last observed in 2018.
In international shipping, the most transported categories were general cargo, oil products, and crude oil, which together accounted for 44% of all transport. The most imported goods were crude oil, general cargo, and ores and concentrates, while the most exported goods were oil products, general cargo, and paper. Compared to 2024, the largest changes in imports occurred in crude oil imports, which increased by 19%, and raw wood imports, which decreased by 22%. The most significant changes in exports occurred in oil product exports, which increased by 25%, and fertilizer exports, which increased by 33%.
Measured by cargo volumes, the largest port in 2025 was Sköldvik, through which 22.5 million tonnes of goods were transported, most of which consisted of crude oil and oil products. The next largest volumes passed through the ports of Helsinki, HaminaKotka, Raahe, and Hanko.
Of imported goods in international maritime transport, 47% came from ports in the Baltic Sea region and only 11% from ports outside Europe. Of exported goods, 54% went to ports in the Baltic Sea region and 14% outside Europe. Overall, maritime transport was highest between Finland and Sweden in 2025, totaling 14.2 million tonnes. The largest volume of imports came from Norway at 10.3 million tonnes, while exports were highest to Germany at 8.2 million tonnes.
The total transport performance (tonne-kilometres) in international maritime transport amounted to 226 billion tonne-kilometres in 2025. Export transport performance was 120 billion tonne-kilometres and import transport performance was 106 billion tonne-kilometres. Export transport performance increased by 7% and import by 3% compared to 2024. Changes in import and export countries as well as transport volumes are directly reflected in transport performance.
In 2025, the number of passengers in international maritime transport increased by 2% compared to 2024. A total of 13.9 million passengers were transported. Of these, 96% traveled on routes to Estonia and Sweden. Between Finland and Estonia, 7.5 million passengers traveled, and between Finland and Sweden, 5.8 million passengers. Between Finland and Germany, 0.2 million passengers were transported.
You can find more statistics from Statistics Finland.
Import and Export
- Over 95% of Finnish import and export is transported by sea.
- The passenger ships transport up to 50% of piece goods imports and 60% of exports.
- Passenger ships transport 31% percent of total export and 26% of total import to Sweden
- 90% of export and import to Estonia is transported by passenger ships.
Emissions from seafaring
- The international maritime organization IMO has decided to cut greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 50% by the year 2050.
- The shipping industry, including the Finnish Shipowners, have a goal of achieving net zero emissions by the the year 2050.
- 90% of goods worldwide are transported by sea and they produce 2,6% of emissions.
- The carbon oxide emissions of a large containership are 3g/tkm.
- The carbon oxide emissions of a cargo ship are 7,7 g/tkm.
- Respectively the emissions per plane are 435 g/ tkm and 80g/tkm per lorry.
European Key Figures
Source: ECSA
Tiina Tuurnala
CEO
Tiina Tuurnala is the Chief Executive Officer of the Finnish Shipowners’ Association.
+358 40 5476762
tiina.tuurnala@shipowners.fi