Can you take propane or camp stove fuel on a ferry?

Yes, in a vehicle, on every North American ferry operator checked for this page, up to a limit. On foot it depends on the operator: BC Ferries and the Alaska Marine Highway allow small named amounts, Quebec's page contradicts itself, and Washington State Ferries does not say. The catch is the units. Each operator writes its limit differently, so the same 20 lb tank can pass one ferry and fail the next.

The rules for each operator in one table#

Only BC Ferries names gas canisters at all, by listing UN2037, the class the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations call "GAS CARTRIDGES". The Alaska document dates from 2019 and its file metadata labels it an archive, so confirm its numbers by email.

Why "propane is banned on ferries" and "just declare it" both circulate#

The ban story comes from lines like Washington's "Hazardous materials (CFR Title 49, Parts 170 to 180)" under prohibited items, or Alaska's "Hazardous materials are prohibited in passenger carry-on baggage, at all times". Read alone, those sound like a ban. The same pages carve out propane and stove fuel with limits.

The "just declare it" story comes from BC Ferries and Alaska, which ask you to declare everything; BC Ferries calls failure to declare "an offence under Canadian law". But declaring does not raise a limit. Above BC Ferries' no-paperwork allowances you need a dangerous goods shipping document, and Alaska's Master or Loading Officer may refuse any item "deemed unsuitable for passage".

The units trap: why one tank passes one ferry and fails the next#

Washington counts weight with the tank. Alaska counts propane weight. BC Ferries and Quebec count water capacity, the volume of the empty cylinder in litres of water. A tank is sold by propane weight, so the useful number for Canada is not on the price tag.

The bridge between them is the filling rule. Under 49 CFR 173.304a, propane of specific gravity 0.504 to 0.510 may be filled to 42 percent of the cylinder's water capacity, by weight. So the smallest water capacity that can legally hold a given fill is the propane weight divided by 0.42:

Quebec's own "65 liters (2 x 30 pounds)" checks out on this arithmetic: two 30 lb tanks need at least 64.8 L.

BC Ferries' figures do not. 18.9 L is exactly 5 US gallons, and a 20 lb tank's legal fill needs at least 21.6 L. A cylinder of 18.9 L can hold at most 7.9 kg (17.5 lb) of propane. Likewise, a 1 lb cylinder cannot hold its 465 g in 1 L. The brochure does not explain how staff apply these numbers to the common sizes, so a literal reading puts the most common camping tanks over the limit. Email dg.bcf@bcferries.com with the water capacity from your tank's collar before you travel. The brochure tells you that is where to find it.

Walking on or cycling with a stove#

BC Ferries gives foot passengers the same allowance as drivers: three 1 L containers of gaseous camping fuel or one 5 L container of liquid stove fuel, without paperwork, if no other camping fuel or propane is carried. Foot passengers may also carry three 1 L propane cylinders. Gasoline is not allowed on foot. No dangerous goods of any kind go in BC Ferries' baggage vans.

Alaska allows a foot passenger one propane cylinder up to 9 kg (20 lb) and one 5 L metal container of camp stove or lantern fuel, with conditions: you carry them aboard yourself, they "will not be transported as baggage", and they are stowed on the car deck where the loading officer says.

Quebec's page says both things. Under gasoline: "Cyclists and foot passengers are prohibited from transporting gasoline or fuel." Under propane: "Cyclists and foot passengers can carry propane provided the cylinder has a capacity of 30 pounds and is secured and stored in the designated location." Gas canisters for a backpacking stove are not addressed by either line. Ask at the terminal before you count on one.

Washington states camp stove and lantern fuel "must be transported in a vehicle". Its page says nothing about walk-on or cyclist propane, and nothing about small isobutane canisters for backpacking stoves. We have not found a written answer from WSF, so this page does not give one. Call WSF customer service on 206-464-6400 before a walk-on trip with a canister. If the answer is no, buy fuel on the far side, the same approach as flying with a camping stove.

Washington's 12 gallon combined rule, worked through#

Washington has three propane and gasoline limits, and the combined one decides most car camping loads. Propane tanks count by water capacity in gallons; gasoline containers count by their size.

Read literally, camp stove fuel is gasoline, so it belongs in "red-colored containers with a non-spill spout" that are UL listed or Coast Guard approved, which an original white gas can is not. It also counts toward the 12 gallons: two 20 lb tanks leave 0.6 gallon (2.3 L) for everything else. How deck staff treat a one litre fuel bottle is not on the page.

Where the Canadian numbers come from, and where this page stops#

The BC Ferries and Quebec limits sit on federal law. Section 151 of the Cargo, Fumigation and Tackle Loading Regulations lets passenger vessels on sheltered waters, near coastal Class 2 and inland voyages carry:

• A motor vehicle with no more than 25 L of fuel outside its tank, in a container designed for that fuel and secured in the vehicle.
• A recreational vehicle or trailer with no more than two LPG cylinders totalling 65 L, gas "for domestic use", cylinders secured and valves closed.
• A portable barbecue with one propane cylinder of up to 65 L.

Quebec repeats those numbers. BC Ferries goes lower for the barbecue cylinder (18.9 L, against the regulation's 65 L) and adds the camping fuel allowances. An operator can be stricter than the regulation, and its own rule is the one you meet at the ramp.

What this page does not cover. Only the Québec to Lévis crossing was checked for STQ. BC Ferries' northern routes add Port of Prince Rupert rules: a pre-clearance fax 48 hours before travel and a port permit 24 hours before. Commercial loads and diesel are out of scope. The Washington and Quebec pages carry no date, so check them the week you travel.

Before you drive to the terminal: a five minute check#

1. Read the collar. Find the water capacity (WC) and tare weight (TW) stamped on each propane cylinder. Convert pounds of water to litres at 0.454 L per lb.
2. Pick the operator's unit. Washington: weigh tanks on a bathroom scale and add them up. Alaska: propane weight, the size you bought. BC Ferries and Quebec: the WC figure, in litres.
3. Add every fuel. Count stove canisters, fuel bottles and any gas can. On BC Ferries, more than one category takes you out of the no-paperwork allowance.
4. Check containers. Washington: red, non-spill, UL or Coast Guard marked. Quebec: metal for camping fuels. BC Ferries: CSA approved, 25 L, for gasoline.
5. Close and cap valves. BC Ferries, Alaska and Quebec seal or tag them at the terminal; arrive with them shut.
6. Plan to declare. At BC Ferries, before you buy the ticket, and at the terminal 45 minutes before sailing (30 at minor terminals).

Waiting in a sunny lineup is a parked car with propane in it. Leaving propane in a hot car sets out when the cabin gets hot enough to vent a cylinder, and why a refilled 1 lb cylinder is worse: refilling disposable cylinders explains the overfill risk.

Common mistakes#

Assuming one ferry's rules apply to the next. A load that passes Alaska (one 20 lb tank per vehicle) can be over BC Ferries' figure as written on the connecting crossing.

Reading Quebec's 5 L as the propane limit. It is the limit for camping fuels in metal containers. Propane cylinders have their own 65 L line.

Treating an empty cylinder as nothing. BC Ferries treats containers that held dangerous goods as full unless cleaned, purged and documented. Alaska requires empty containers to be cleaned or purged and declared free of residue.

Buying more fuel than the trip needs. Carrying less is the easiest way under every limit; stove fuel planning and how long a 1 lb propane cylinder lasts size it, and Quebec recommends filling containers after the crossing. Add the ferry line to your car camping checklist.

Frequently asked questions#

Can you take a propane tank on a ferry?#

Yes, in a vehicle, on Washington State Ferries, BC Ferries, the Alaska Marine Highway and the Québec to Lévis ferry, within each operator's limit. Washington allows 100 lb gross; Alaska one 20 lb cylinder per vehicle; Quebec 65 L of cylinder capacity; BC Ferries one 18.9 L cylinder per car as written, more for RVs. Close the valve and declare it where the operator asks.

Can I take a propane tank on BC Ferries?#

Yes. A car or trailer for personal use may carry three 1 L cylinders or one 18.9 L cylinder (water capacity) without paperwork; an RV two cylinders totalling 65 L plus an 18.9 L barbecue cylinder. Valves are sealed with tags at the ticket booth. A standard 20 lb tank needs at least 21.6 L, so email BC Ferries' dangerous goods office with your tank's collar figure first.

How much propane can you take on Washington State Ferries?#

The total weight of propane including the tanks may not exceed 100 lb (45 kg); WSF's example is two 20 lb tanks at about 76 lb. Fixed tanks on a vehicle's chassis do not count. If you also carry gasoline or camp stove fuel, propane and gasoline together may not exceed 12 gallons of water capacity, which two 20 lb tanks nearly fill.

Can you walk on a ferry with a camping gas canister?#

On BC Ferries, yes: up to three 1 L containers of gaseous camping fuel without paperwork. On the Alaska Marine Highway the brochure names a propane cylinder and liquid fuel for foot passengers, not canisters, and items go on the car deck. Washington's page does not say; ask WSF before travelling. Quebec's page bans fuel on foot in one line and allows propane in another.

Can you bring white gas or camp stove fuel on a ferry?#

In a vehicle, yes on all four. Washington treats it as gasoline: red non-spill UL or Coast Guard containers, in a vehicle only, and within the 12 gallon combined total if you carry propane. BC Ferries allows one 5 L container, Quebec up to 5 L in metal containers. A foot passenger may carry one 5 L can on BC Ferries and on Alaska's ferries.

Do you have to declare propane on a ferry?#

On BC Ferries, yes: all dangerous goods are declared before you buy a ticket, and failing to declare is an offence under Canadian law. Alaska requires every hazardous material to be declared at the ticket booth or to a vessel officer. Quebec seals propane valves before boarding. Washington's page states the limits but does not describe a declaration step.