How do I record a ferry crossing with a company vehicle on board?

Record the passenger.km (or the ferry operator's spend-based factor) for the sea crossing itself; the vehicle's road mileage before and after the crossing is recorded separately under the relevant road travel entry, not combined into one trip figure.

Should offshore crew transfers to a rig or vessel be included here?

Yes, if the transfer is for business purposes and not a normal commute; if it forms part of a regular offshore rotation pattern, check whether your organisation classifies it as commuting instead, and be consistent across reporting periods.

What is the difference between this entry and marine freight?

This entry is for people travelling for business; sea freight (movement of goods) is recorded under the Freight entries, using tonne.km or tonne rather than passenger.km, and usually maps to a different Scope 3 category.

Can we use a flat average factor if we do not know foot versus car passenger status?

Yes, use the "Sea Travel: Average" sub-type when passenger type is not captured on your booking records, but flag this as a data-quality limitation, since car passenger journeys carry a different intensity.

How should we treat fuel for a company-owned vessel used partly for business travel and partly for freight?

Apportion fuel volumes between passenger business travel and freight based on time, deadweight, or another documented allocation method, and record each portion under its respective activity entry rather than assigning the whole fuel volume to one category.

Activity data·Business travel

How to measure emissions from Business travel: Sea

Business travel by sea covers ferry, cruise and chartered-vessel journeys employees take for work, recorded as passenger.km, spend, or — where the organisation operates its own vessel — fuel litres or tonnes. It maps to Scope 1 for owned-vessel fuel and Scope 3 Category 6 for third-party travel. Source data from TMC bookings, expense claims or bunker fuel records, keeping passenger and fuel-purchase routes separate.

Scope: Scope 1 and Scope 3 Category 6
What activity data you need: passenger.km, kWh, litre, tonne, $ Spend, £ Spend
Activity data: Business travel

What counts as Business travel: Sea

Sea and inland waterway travel undertaken by employees for business purposes, including ferry crossings (as foot or car passenger), cruise-related business travel, and marine fuel purchased directly for organisation-operated vessels. Excludes freight moved by sea (see Freight) and commuting ferry journeys, which sit under Employee commuting.

Business travel by sea is a smaller but distinct mode alongside air and road, typically used for island, offshore or cross-channel trips. The key boundary decision is passenger mode versus fuel purchase: if employees travel as passengers on a commercial ferry, record passenger.km or spend; if the organisation charters or owns a vessel and buys marine fuel directly, record litres or tonnes of fuel under the Scope 1 fuel-purchase sub-type instead of passenger.km, to avoid double-counting the same journey twice.

How to collect the data

Ferry and cruise passenger travel is best sourced from travel management company (TMC) booking data or expense claims showing route and passenger type (foot or car passenger); spend-based reporting from card statements is an acceptable fallback when route detail is unavailable. Where the organisation operates or charters its own vessel, use bunker fuel delivery notes or fuel card records in litres or tonnes rather than estimating from distance.

What activity data you need

Collect the most specific physical unit available. Unit definitions are in Appendix I — Description of Units.

passenger.km
kWh
litre
tonne
$ Spend
£ Spend

Which emission scope it falls under

Business travel: Sea activity data typically maps to Scope 1 and Scope 3 Category 6 under the GHG Protocol. Confirm organisational boundary and ownership before reporting.

Scope 1

Scope 3 Category 6

By emission scope

Compliance frameworks

Compliance & reporting frameworks

Sub-types available in the platform

All 6 sub-types available in the platform.

Ferry
Ferry: Car passenger
Ferry: Foot passenger
Marine fuel oil
Sea Travel: Average
Sea travel: Average: UK

Common questions

How do I record a ferry crossing with a company vehicle on board?: Record the passenger.km (or the ferry operator's spend-based factor) for the sea crossing itself; the vehicle's road mileage before and after the crossing is recorded separately under the relevant road travel entry, not combined into one trip figure.
Should offshore crew transfers to a rig or vessel be included here?: Yes, if the transfer is for business purposes and not a normal commute; if it forms part of a regular offshore rotation pattern, check whether your organisation classifies it as commuting instead, and be consistent across reporting periods.
What is the difference between this entry and marine freight?: This entry is for people travelling for business; sea freight (movement of goods) is recorded under the Freight entries, using tonne.km or tonne rather than passenger.km, and usually maps to a different Scope 3 category.
Can we use a flat average factor if we do not know foot versus car passenger status?: Yes, use the "Sea Travel: Average" sub-type when passenger type is not captured on your booking records, but flag this as a data-quality limitation, since car passenger journeys carry a different intensity.
How should we treat fuel for a company-owned vessel used partly for business travel and partly for freight?: Apportion fuel volumes between passenger business travel and freight based on time, deadweight, or another documented allocation method, and record each portion under its respective activity entry rather than assigning the whole fuel volume to one category.

Next step

Start benchmarking your Business travel: Sea footprint

Apply matching emission factors in Compare Your Footprint and compare your footprint against sector peers.

Start free trial

Related in this cluster·Business travel