SR-028

July 2011

Making Sense of Passenger Vessel Data

by Matthew Chambers

Special Report

RITA Bureau of Transportation Statistics

The absence of legal definitions to describe waterborne 

passenger vessels, such as cruise ships and ferries, may 

pose a challenge for researchers attempting to collect, 

sort, and analyze passenger data. A variety of definitions 

are used to describe waterborne passenger vessels and 

the port and terminal infrastructures that support them (see 

table 1). Lacking common definitions, identical terminology 

may cause confusion, particularly when the data are linked 

to a Federal regulatory or statistical program. For instance, 

across-the-board definitions that would define a cruise ship 

by tonnage, passengers, accommodations, and route do 

not exist.1

This report characterizes identical or similar terminology 

that may have different meanings to different users or yield 

different results for researchers. Further, this report briefly 

describes the two leading types of passenger vessels and 

their unique capabilities. In addition, it presents distinct 

challenges faced by the supporting port and terminal infrastructure unique to each vessel type. 

Identical Terminology May Have Different 

Meanings or Yield Different Results

Several legal definitions or regulations describe ferry and 

passenger vessels as well as their subtypes (see table 1). 

For example, in describing passenger vessels, the Federal Maritime Commission specifies a minimum number of 

berths, whereas the U.S. Coast Guard specifies a minimum 

number of passengers. In this case, one definition may be 

more or less inclusive when compared to the other. 

Although all passenger vessels are designed and specifically fitted to carry passengers,2

 differences ranging from 

the subtle to the obvious exist not only among types of passenger vessels but among their operational capabilities and 

physical descriptions. Unless it is fully differentiated, data 

1

 U.S. Environment Protection Agency, Cruise Ship White Paper (August 2000), 

available at http://www.epa.gov/ as of February 2011.

2

 American Bureau of Shipping, Guide for Building and Classing: Passenger Vessels

(November 2001), available at http://www.eagle.org/ as of February 2011.

compatibility and the subsequent analysis of data obtained 

from disparate sources may be misclassified. 

Types of Passenger Vessels

Operators choose the type of passenger vessel for a 

particular route by considering such factors as economics, 

itinerary, passenger counts, route, and marine environment 

(e.g., protected v. open waters3). To match changing needs 

or current weather conditions, a cruise line or ferry operator 

may deploy vessels with different operational capability and 

passenger capacities. For example, until recently, Washington State Ferries deployed small 250-passenger-only 

ferries, such as the Kalama, and large Jumbo Mark II-class 

3

 Protected waters may include bays, lakes, rivers, and other sheltered bodies of 

water.

Figure 1: Select Seattle, WA, Cruise and Ferry 

Terminals, and Ferry Routes 

SOURCES: Data derived from multiple sources by the U.S. Department 

of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics as of March 2011.

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§ ̈¦90

§ ̈¦5

§ ̈¦405

£¤160

£¤520

£¤305

£¤99

£¤900

£¤509

£¤518

£¤599

£¤181

£¤513

£¤99

£¤519

U.S. Department of Transportation

Research and Innovative Technology Administration Select Seattle Cruise and Ferry Terminals, 2008

"| Cruise Terminals

"| Ferry Terminals

# Intermodal Terminal Facility

Highways

Ferry Routes

0 0.5 1 2 3 4

Miles

Pier 91

Pier 66

Puget

Sound

Seattle, WA, has significant ferry and cruise activity.
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Table 1: Identical or Similar Terms with Different Meanings

This table illustrates how Federal agencies assign different meanings to identical terms. For example, the Federal Highway Administration may include water taxis in its definition of ferries for its Ferry Boat Discretionary Program, which provides funding for ferry 

boats and ferry terminal construction. However, the definition used by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for its National Census 

of Ferry Operators, which provides data on ferry operators, routes, terminals, and vessels, specifically excludes water taxis because 

they do not operate on scheduled, fixed routes.

Source Legal Definition or Meaning

Ferry

46 United States Code § 2101, which is available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_

usc&docid=Cite:+46USC2101 as of March 2011.

...a vessel that is used on a regular schedule—a) to provide transportation only between places that are not more than 300 miles 

apart; and b) to transport only—i. Passengers; or ii. Vehicles, or 

railroad cars, that are being used, or have been used, in transporting 

passengers or goods.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United States 

Coast Guard, 46 Code of Federal Regulations 175.400, 

available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2009/octqtr/

pdf/46cfr175.400.pdf as of March 2011.

...a vessel that 1) operates in other than ocean or coastwise service; 

2) has provisions only for deck passengers or vehicles, or both; 3) 

Operates on a short run on a frequent schedule between two points 

over the most direct water route; and 4) offers a public service of a 

type normally attributed to a bridge or tunnel.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation 

Statistic, National Census of Ferry Operators, available at 

http://www.bts.gov as of March 2011.

...a vessel that sails an itinerant, fixed route as a common carrier 

of passengers or vehicles. Railroad car float operations are also 

included.

Ferry boat and terminal

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Ferry Boat Discretionary Program, available at http://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/discretionary/fbdinfo.cfm as of March 2011.

...whether toll or free, subject to the following conditions: 1) It is 

not feasible to build a bridge, tunnel, combination thereof, or other 

normal highway structure in lieu of the use of such ferry. 2) The 

operation of the ferry shall be on a route classified as a public road 

within the State and which has not been designated as a route on 

the Interstate System.

Passenger vessel

46 United States Code § 2101, which is available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_

usc&docid=Cite:+46USC2101 as of March 2011.

...a vessel of at least 100 gross tons as measured under section 

14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 

14104 of this title—a) carrying more than 12 passengers, including 

at least one passenger for hire; b) that is chartered and carrying 

more than 12 passengers; c) that is a submersible vessel carrying at 

least one passenger for hire; or d) that is a ferry carrying a passenger.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, Passenger Vessel Operators, available at http://www.fmc.gov/ as of March 2011....having 50 or more berths or stateroom accommodations and that 

embark passengers at ports....

American Bureau of Shipping, Guide for Building and Classing: Passenger Vessels (November 2001), available at http://

www.eagle.org/ as of February 2011.

...apply to 200-ft or longer oceangoing vessel carrying 12 or more 

passengers on international routes.

Small passenger vessels

U.S. Coast Guard, Passenger Vessel Safety Program, available at http://www.uscg.mil as of February 2011....are ones that are less than 100 gross tons.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 

Small Vessel Waiver Program, available at http://www.marad.

dot.gov/ as of March 2011.

...must be 1), at least, three years old, 2), when in service, cannot 

carry more than 12 passengers, 3) carry passengers only, and 4) 

owned by a U.S.-Citizen.

Uninspected passenger vessels

U.S. Coast Guard, Passenger Vessel Safety Program, available at http://www.uscg.mil as of February 2011....carry 6 or fewer passengers for hire....
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2,500-passenger/vehicle ferries, such as the Tacoma on its 

many routes (see figure 1).4 The Kalama and Tacoma are 

both ferries, yet they have quite different capabilities and 

passenger capacities.

Ferries

According to the National Census of Ferry Operators 2008, 

in 2007 a typical ferry plying U.S. waters had a median passenger capacity of 149. However, individual ferry capacities ranged from 2 to the nearly 6,000 passengers carried 

by the Andrew J. Barberi, which serves as a Staten Island 

Ferry in New York, NY. In 2007, ferry operators across the 

country maintained an active fleet of almost 700 vessels, 

transporting an estimated 106 million passengers.5 In turn, 

onboard amenities range from barebones to abundant. Depending on the factors such as trip duration, a vessel may 

offer passengers a wide range of amenities. For instance, 

some larger ferries may have a few passenger berths or 

stateroom accommodations, limited food service, or even 

arcades and gift shops.6

Cruise Ships

Cruise ships averaged 2,169 passengers per vessel in 

2009, with capacities ranging from 100 passengers to the 

nearly 6,000-passenger capacity of the recently launched 

Oasis of the Seas, which sails from its home Port Everglades, FL. In 2009, the 17 major cruise lines deployed approximately 109 cruise ships in the United States, carrying 

about 9.8 million passengers.7

Challenges Faced by Port and Terminal 

Infrastructure

Cruise ships typically provide stateroom accommodations, 

onboard dining, and entertainment and are physically larger 

than ferries. Terminals that serve cruise ships embark and 

disembark large numbers of passengers and their luggage, 

quickly moving them through customs, ticketing, and passenger screening. Cruise ship terminals may provide shoreside eateries, shopping, travel services, and vending. 

As a result, cruise ships place a greater demand on passenger terminals and port infrastructure than do ferries. 

Both the Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, 

and the ferry Andrew J. Barberi can each carry upwards of 

6,000 passengers, but the newly expanded Terminal 18, 

which serves the Oasis of the Seas and her sister ship, oc4

 Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington State Ferries Vessel 

by Class, available at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ as of February 2011.

5

 U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2008 National Census of Ferry 

Operators, available at http://www.bts.gov of March 2011.

6

 Cape May-Lewes Ferry, Meet Our Fleet, available at http://www.capemaylewesferry.

com/ as of February 2011.

7

 U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, North America Cruise 

Summary Data, available at http://www.marad.dot.gov/ as of February 2011.

cupies 240,000 square feet—about 5 1⁄2 acres.8 Terminal 18 

is 1 of 12 passenger terminals at Port Everglades (see figure 2). In contrast, the Battery Park Ferry Terminal serving 

the Andrew J. Barberi covers 22,000 square feet—about 1⁄2 

acre.9

8

 Port Everglades, Port Everglades Builds World’s Largest Cruise Terminal for 

World’s Largest Ships (March 2009), available at http://www.porteverglades.net/ as 

of February 2011.

9

 The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New State-of-the-Art Cruise 

Terminal to Open in Battery Park (Mar. 18, 2009), available at as of http://www.

panynj.gov/ February 2011.

Figure 3: Alternative Marine Power 

Photo courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles.

Alternative marine power, also called “cold ironing,” uses electricity to reduce diesel-engine emissions from ships while they are in 

port. Pictured here is the machinery used to connect cruise ships 

to shore-supplied electric power. 

Figure 2: State of Florida Ports and Terminals

SOURCES: Derived by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics from multiple data sources as of March 2011. 

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Bahamas

Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic Ocean

Port Everglades

Port Canaveral

West Palm

Beach

Tampa

Jacksonville

Miami

U.S. Department of Transportation

Research and Innovative Technology Administration Florida Cruise and Ferry Terminals, 2008

Florida

Alabama Georgia

"| Cruise Terminals

"| Ferry Terminals

# Intermodal Terminal Facility

Intermodal Service Roads

0 20 40 80 120 160

Miles

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Florida is home to the Nation’s most popular cruise departure ports.
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Cruise ships may also have unique environmental or operational requirements. For example, the Port of Los Angeles 

offers alternative marine power (also known as coldironing)10 at its World Cruise Center in order to curb vessel 

emissions (see figure 3).11

Ferry v. Cruise Boardings

The annual number of ferry passengers exceeds the number of cruise passengers by almost 10 to 1. According to 

the National Census of Ferry Operators 2008, the number 

of ferry passengers dipped slightly from 108 million in 2005 

10 Alternative Maritime Power (or Cold Ironing) provides electricity from shore to a 

docked vessel, thus allowing the vessel to run onboard systems without running its 

engines.

11 Port of Los Angeles, Port of Los Angeles ‘Plugs In’ Three Different Cruise Lines 

to Shore-Side Electrical Power, available at http://www.portoflosangeles.org/ as of 

March 2011.

to 106 million passengers in 2007. The number of cruise 

passengers increased by about half a million, from 9.8 million to 10.3 million, during the same period (see figure 4). 

Seasonality affects cruise and ferry operations differently. 

For example, in Seattle, WA, the majority of ferry services 

operate year round; whereas cruise ships depart Seattle 

almost exclusively in the warm summer months. (2nd and 3rd

quarters—see figure 5).

Fully understanding the difference in the industry standards 

and legal definitions, particularly when they are linked to 

regulatory or statistical programs, will help improve data 

and information quality. Furthermore, this knowledge will 

help clarify understanding of the entire transportation system and how it works. This understanding, in turn, will help 

facilitate data comparability by helping data users see how 

and why the terms are used by Federal agencies as well as 

informed decision-making.

Figure 4: U.S. Cruise Passenger Departures: 

1Q04–3Q10 (in thousands) 

2004

Q1

2005

Q1

2006

Q1

2007

Q1

2008

Q1

2009

Q1

2010

Q1

2,000

2,100

2,200

2,300

2,400

2,500

2,600

2,700

2,800

Passengers

Trend

Passenger departures

NOTE: Trend calculated using X-12-ARIMA. For additional information, 

please visit http://www.census.gov/www/x12a/.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based 

on U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration; North 

America Cruise Summary Data; available at http://www.marad.dot.gov/ 

as of March 2011.

Figure 5: Seattle, WA, Cruise Vessel 

Departures: 1Q04–3Q10 (in thousands)

0

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150

2004

Q1

2005

Q1

2006

Q1

2007

Q1

2008

Q1

2009

Q1

2010

Q1

Vessel departures

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based 

on U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration; North 

America Cruise Summary Data; available at http://www.marad.dot.gov/ 

as of March 2011.

About This Report

Matthew Chambers, a Senior Transportation Specialist, in the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics (BTS) prepared this fact sheet. Dominic Menegus, 

a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst, provided special assistance creating the maps. Special thanks to Chip Moore, the RITA Editor, for 

his assistance. BTS is a component of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).

For questions about this fact sheet or other BTS reports, call 1-800-853-

1351, e-mail ritainfo@dot.gov, or visit http://www.bts.gov.

Maritime-Related BTS Data Products 

For the latest Maritime-related BTS data products, please visit the BTS Maritime Program website at http://www.bts.gov/programs/maritime_program/.

Related data on the BTS Maritime Program 

website:

•	 National Census of Ferry Operators

•	 Intermodal Passenger Connectivity Database

Water Passenger Transportation-related BTS Publications:

•	 Highlights of the 2008 National Census of Ferry Operators (2011)

•	 Ocean Passenger Vessels: Migrating South for the Winter (2010)

•	 Ocean Passenger Terminals: Serving Larger Vessels Closer to Home and

Central Transit Connections (2010)

•	 Making Connections: Intermodal Links Between Regular route Passenger

Ferries and Other Passenger Transportation Modes (2009)

•	 Highlights of the 2006 National Census of Ferry Operators (2008)

•	 Multiple Imputation of Missing Passenger Boarding Data in the National

Census of Ferry Operators (2006)