Import/export HS code 8901: Ships and Boats for Transport
Cruise ships, ferry boats, cargo ships, and similar vessels for moving people or goods
Why this is important if you are looking for potential customers in the UK:
- It helps you understand the market size for your product in the UK.
- It provides you with a list of potential leads who have bought similar products.
* UK only, last 24 months analysed
Imports by country
What this shows: Import market volume by exporter country into the UK.
Top 5 values
| Country | £ |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 59,653,833 |
| Turkey | 20,319,424 |
| Netherlands | 12,958,065 |
| Norway | 6,401,569 |
| Denmark | 2,306,279 |
Countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month volume, right side by second 12-month volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Country | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 42,904,057 | 16,749,776 | -26,154,281 |
| Turkey | 17,565 | 20,301,859 | +20,284,294 |
| Netherlands | 4,929,939 | 8,028,126 | +3,098,187 |
| Norway | 6,399,501 | 2,068 | -6,397,433 |
| Denmark | 1,402 | 2,304,877 | +2,303,475 |
| Germany | 5,121 | 1,201,027 | +1,195,906 |
| Czechia | 424,961 | 306,375 | -118,586 |
| Estonia | 29,364 | 610,950 | +581,586 |
| Ireland | 292,172 | 341,971 | +49,799 |
| Poland | 100,000 | 433,000 | +333,000 |
Imports by country of origin
What this shows: Import volume by production origin country. Differences from exporter-country data can indicate re-export routes.
Top 5 values
| Origin | £ |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 59,653,833 |
| Turkey | 24,529,395 |
| Netherlands | 7,388,754 |
| Poland | 3,860,216 |
| Norway | 3,607,937 |
Country of origin rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Origin | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 42,904,057 | 16,749,776 | -26,154,281 |
| Turkey | 3,026,509 | 21,502,886 | +18,476,377 |
| Netherlands | 1,876,504 | 5,512,250 | +3,635,746 |
| Poland | 3,282,173 | 578,043 | -2,704,130 |
| Norway | 3,580,978 | 26,959 | -3,554,019 |
| Denmark | 0 | 2,279,986 | +2,279,986 |
| Romania | 0 | 2,138,763 | +2,138,763 |
| Czechia | 424,961 | 306,375 | -118,586 |
| United Kingdom | 19,773 | 682,529 | +662,756 |
| Ireland | 0 | 364,790 | +364,790 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 3 |
| Highlands and Islands | 3 |
| Essex | 2 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 2 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 1 |
UK regions rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: UK regions are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month importer count, right side by second 12-month importer count, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| UK region | First 12m | Second 12m | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Highlands and Islands | 3 | 0 | -3 |
| Essex | 1 | 2 | +1 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 0 | 2 | +2 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 0 | 1 | +1 |
| Inner London - East | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Kent | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Lancashire | 1 | 1 | +0 |
| Mid and South West Wales | 1 | 1 | +0 |
| Norfolk | 1 | 1 | +0 |
Import volume by transport
What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 100,884,865 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 5,097,177 |
| Air transport | 347,683 |
Transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Transport | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 54,437,411 | 46,447,454 | -7,989,957 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 1,234,800 | 3,862,377 | +2,627,577 |
| Air transport | 184,598 | 163,085 | -21,513 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 64,714,249 |
| Hull | 7,626,046 |
| Aberdeen Docks | 6,353,293 |
| Inverness | 4,171,397 |
| Sharpness Docks | 3,979,511 |
Port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Port | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 35,288,660 | 29,425,589 | -5,863,071 |
| Hull | 0 | 7,626,046 | +7,626,046 |
| Aberdeen Docks | 6,353,293 | 0 | -6,353,293 |
| Inverness | 0 | 4,171,397 | +4,171,397 |
| Sharpness Docks | 3,979,511 | 0 | -3,979,511 |
| Grimsby | 3,913,144 | 0 | -3,913,144 |
| London | 813,483 | 2,762,433 | +1,948,950 |
| Fraserburgh Harbour | 3,015,652 | 0 | -3,015,652 |
| Immingham Docks | 294,043 | 2,301,455 | +2,007,412 |
| Dover | 648,585 | 653,925 | +5,340 |
Importer companies by SIC division
What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.
Top 5 values
| SIC | Companies |
|---|---|
| Water transport | 5 |
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 4 |
| Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities | 3 |
| Repair and installation of machinery and equipment | 3 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 3 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2025-11 | 2 |
| 2025-05 | 1 |
| 2025-03 | 4 |
| 2025-02 | 2 |
| 2024-10 | 3 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 9 |
| 54m+ | 6 |
| 0-1m | 2 |
| 15m-54m | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
Import seasonality
What this shows: Average monthly import pattern from historical data.
Exports by country
What this shows: Export market volume by destination country from the UK.
Top 5 values
| Country | £ |
|---|---|
| France | 33,674,765 |
| South Korea | 1,716,267 |
| Italy | 1,256,634 |
| Ireland | 946,554 |
| South Africa | 468,670 |
Export countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Destination countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export volume, right side by second 12-month export volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Country | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 33,483,969 | 190,796 | -33,293,173 |
| South Korea | 1,714,527 | 1,740 | -1,712,787 |
| Italy | 1,253,238 | 3,396 | -1,249,842 |
| Ireland | 833,726 | 112,828 | -720,898 |
| South Africa | 0 | 468,670 | +468,670 |
| Turkey | 184,754 | 247,576 | +62,822 |
| Iceland | 303,620 | 37,320 | -266,300 |
| Croatia | 301,583 | 0 | -301,583 |
| China | 294,138 | 0 | -294,138 |
| Malta | 18,000 | 228,305 | +210,305 |
Exports by country of origin
What this shows: Export volume by production origin country. For re-exports, indicates where goods originated before UK export.
Top 5 values
| Origin | £ |
|---|---|
| Nicaragua | 2,949 |
Export origin countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Origin | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua | 0 | 2,949 | +2,949 |
Export volume by transport
What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 35,363,463 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 5,038,126 |
| Air transport | 603,309 |
| Own propulsion (e.g. imported vehicle driven across land boundary) | 216,405 |
| Road transport | 3,524 |
Export transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Transport | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 34,809,058 | 554,405 | -34,254,653 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 4,060,537 | 977,589 | -3,082,948 |
| Air transport | 544,157 | 59,152 | -485,005 |
| Own propulsion (e.g. imported vehicle driven across land boundary) | 0 | 216,405 | +216,405 |
| Road transport | 3,524 | 0 | -3,524 |
| Other | 0 | 2,949 | +2,949 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Portsmouth | 22,655,647 |
| Plymouth | 10,972,500 |
| Southampton | 2,131,133 |
| London | 1,730,349 |
| London Gateway Port | 631,157 |
Export port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months
What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.
Top 10 values
| Port | First 12m £ | Second 12m £ | Delta £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | 22,655,300 | 347 | -22,654,953 |
| Plymouth | 10,785,000 | 187,500 | -10,597,500 |
| Southampton | 1,941,201 | 189,932 | -1,751,269 |
| London | 1,730,349 | 0 | -1,730,349 |
| London Gateway Port | 52,896 | 578,261 | +525,365 |
| Holyhead | 467,955 | 112,828 | -355,127 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 196,558 | 229,800 | +33,242 |
| Harwich | 184,754 | 167,576 | -17,178 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 331,391 | 10,973 | -320,418 |
| Milford | 325,771 | 0 | -325,771 |
Related HS codes
What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.
Quick facts
HS code: 8901
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Cruise ships, ferry boats, cargo ships, and similar vessels for moving people or goods