Chapter 89 — Ships, boats and floating structures 4-digit heading

89.01 Cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry-boats, cargo ships, barges and similar vessels for the transport of persons or goods

One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.

Section XVII, Vehicles & Transport — railway stock, road vehicles, aircraft, ships and transport equipment.

  1. 89 Chapter Ships, boats and floating structures
  2. 01 Heading Cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry-boats, cargo ships, barges and similar vessels for the transport of persons or goods
  3. —— Subheading Pick one of the 4 six-digit codes below

Chapter 89 covers ships, boats and floating structures: vessels of every kind from cargo ships to yachts to floating docks, plus their associated equipment. Classification tip: Vessel classification splits by function (cargo, fishing, pleasure, tug) and by propulsion, and importing a vessel usually also triggers flagging, registration and marine-safety requirements well beyond the HS code itself.

All of chapter 89

The 4 six-digit codes under 89.01

One of these is the number you declare.

Other headings in chapter 89

89.02 Fishing vessels, factory ships and other vessels; for processing or preserving fishery products 89.03 Yachts and other vessels; for pleasure or sports, rowing boats and canoes 89.04 Tugs and pusher craft 89.05 Light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, other vessels; the navigability of which is subsidiary to main function; floating docks, floating, submersible drilling, production platforms 89.06 Vessels; other, including warships and lifeboats, other than rowing boats 89.07 Boats, floating structures, other (for e.g. rafts, tanks, coffer-dams, landing stages, buoys and beacons) 89.08 Vessels and other floating structures; for breaking up

The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.

Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.

Shipping goods under 89.01? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.

Track a shipment

89.01 FAQ

Heading 89.01 covers cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry-boats, cargo ships, barges and similar vessels for the transport of persons or goods. It is part of chapter 89 (ships, boats and floating structures), and it is subdivided into 4 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.

Pick one of the 4 subheadings below. Those six digits are what customs recognises internationally; the importing country may extend them to eight or ten in its own tariff schedule.

The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section XVII and to chapter 89. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.

A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.

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