Prohibited & Restricted Items on Ferries

Travelling by ferry generally allows you to carry much more with you than when going by plane or train. However, there are some prohibited items that under no circumstances you should have with you or in other cases take onboard. Read on to find out more about restrictions and how to safely transport certain items.

Skip to: Dangerous Goods | Sports Equipment | Fuel | DIY Supplies | FAQs

Dangerous Goods (firearms, knives, ammunition)

Foot passengers are not permitted to carry ammunition or anything that could be considered a dangerous weapon. For motorists, ferry operators permit the transport of dangerous goods according to strict rules being followed:

Guns, Firearms & Ammunition

All operators require you to have a valid Firearm, Shotgun or Registered Firearms Dealers (RFD) certificate – this should be carried with you. Any firearms and ammunition should be kept out of sight within your vehicle and you may be accompanied by a duty manager to ensure doors are locked before sailing.

• DFDS accept vehicles carrying hunting/sporting weapons and ammunition, but you must declare this at the booking stage and complete a Notification of Carriage of Weapons/Ammunition form before travelling.
• Irish Ferries require motorists to contact them in advance to advise you’ll be carrying a firearm and have the correct documentation. Ammunition is not allowed on any ship operated by Irish Ferries.
• P&O Ferries permit weapons of category B, C or D and require all equipment to not be visible when carried in vehicles. Up to 1,000 cartridges of UN Class 1.4S are allowed, but these must be stored in their original boxes.
• Brittany Ferries accept firearms and ammunition to be transported across the fleet, but these must be declared at the time of booking and you’ll need to complete a Firearms Declaration Form before departure. Up to 100 cartridges in their original boxes per firearm (up to a maximum of 1,000 per vehicle) are permitted.
• Stena Line allow firearms to be carried in vehicles in accordance with a Company Policy. All firearms must be declared at least 24 hours before departure and there’s a maximum limit of 1,000 cartridges.
• Condor Ferries permit firearms and ammunition (up to 1,000 cartridges of Class 1.4S per vehicle) stored within your vehicle on the car deck. All items must be declared before departure and it’s advised you contact them on 0345 609 1026 to check any extra paperwork requirements for different ports.

Knives & Sharp Objects

Operators don’t allow the following prohibited items to be carried into any public area of the vessel (they must remain within your vehicle) or a Port Security Restricted Area:

• Any knives (including flick, lockable, kitchen, ceremonial or religious)
• Axes and hatchets
• Harpoons and spears
• Kilt pins (not permitted on Irish Ferries only)
• Swords, machetes and sabres
• Scalpels
• Scissors (not permitted on Irish Ferries only)
• Tools with pointed edges, including saws, drills and hammers (not permitted on Irish Ferries only)

This means no foot passengers are permitted to carry anything listed above. Passengers travelling with a vehicle are advised to declare any item that could be a considered a dangerous weapon (bow and arrow, sword, chef’s knives) to the operator in advance of the departure date.

Sports Equipment

Outside of diving tanks, other sports equipment may sound strange to be on the prohibited items list, but certain operators have strict guidelines in place.

• Irish Ferries, for example, doesn’t permit any blunt instrument capable of causing injury in any of the public areas on board. This includes baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, hockey sticks, fishing rods and snooker cues. Therefore you must keep these within the confines of your vehicle and foot passengers must not attempt to take any of them onboard.
• Most other operators don’t have these guidelines in place, but it’s always worth checking with them before you travel to ensure you’ll be permitted to carry the items in public places.
• Ice skates, darts, crampons and ice picks often fall within the ‘sharp objects’ policy of the operator and it’s likely these will also need to remain within your vehicle at all times.
• When it comes to scuba diving equipment, all must be declared prior to sailing. Each operator (and often each vessel) has limits in place for the quantity of gas cylinders that can be carried onboard. The limit is usually up to 6 cylinders per vehicle of size ‘F’ or smaller.

Fuel

While ferry operators have similar policies for carrying gas cylinders for camping purposes, they have varying policies on carrying spare fuel for your vehicle:

Carrying Butane/Propane Gas Cylinders

• P&O, Condor, Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Irish Ferries all permit up to 3 gas cylinders can be carried in the vehicle, but the combined weight cannot exceed 47kg (excluding the weight of the receptacle). The gas flow should always be shut off at the cylinders when you’re aboard the ship and each cylinder must be secured against movement during the crossing.

Carrying Spare Petrol or Diesel

• P&O, DFDS, Irish Ferries and Stena Line don’t allow the transport of any petrol or diesel fuel cans in vehicles, even if the containers are empty.
• Condor and Brittany Ferries both permit you to take up to 5L of petrol or diesel per vehicle in an approved container. You must declare this to the ship’s officer before boarding the vessel.

DIY Supplies

You can generally take all the DIY supplies you need with you if you’re having a working holiday in France (or doing up a second home), but there are some restrictions to be aware of:

• Ferry operators limit the amount of flammable paint you can take to 10L combined. There’s not a limit on the amount of water based paint you can take, however white spirit is not usually permitted. Foot passengers aren’t allowed to carry any kind of paint, even it’s water based.
• DFDS is the exception and doesn’t allow any paint to be carried in private vehicles, so if you’re travelling with them leave the paint at home.
• Because power tools and hand tools may fall under the ‘sharps objects’ policy of the operator (as detailed above), foot passengers are unlikely to be permitted to travel with them as they should be kept in a vehicle at all times.

Other Restricted/Prohibited Items

In addition to the restricted items and those prohibited in public areas listed so far there are several other limitations to be aware of when travelling by ferry between the UK and France:

• Balloonists can only carry up to 3 cylinders of Helium (with a combined maximum weight of 47kg).
• Only 1 fire extinguisher (up to 5kg in weight) can be carried in your vehicle.
• The carrying of fireworks is generally forbidden across the majority of operators. Only P&O and Condor Ferries permit fireworks to be transported in private vehicles, however this is limited to 5kg in total and the fireworks must be in their original packaging.

Common questions on travelling with prohibited items on ferries