Water transport (SIC division 50)
Division 50 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 2 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 50
Division 50 belongs to companies that actually run vessels. They carry cargo or passengers at sea, along the coast or on inland waterways. The working code on the UK register is 50200, sea and coastal freight water transport. Ship owners, operators and charterers moving goods use it, as do workboat and offshore support businesses. Passenger operations, including ferries and charter boats, use the division's passenger codes. Inland waterway carriers have their own set. The vessel is what ties this division together. Firms that arrange shipping without running ships belong elsewhere.
This is a specialist patch, and the people selling into it know the industry. Marine insurers and P&I intermediaries lead the way. Ship management and crewing agencies, maritime solicitors, dry dock and repair yards, and survey and classification providers follow. Port-side suppliers build lists here too, from bunkering to chandlery. A newly incorporated vessel operator usually means a ship purchase or a new charter. Insurance, finance, registration and crewing all get sorted at once. That makes incorporation date the single most useful signal in this division.
How to read a division 50 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 50 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 50 shares those digits: all 2 codes below begin 50, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 50 sits inside section H, transportation and storage, which is the broadest tier of the classification. So a code is read left to right, from an industry down to a specific activity.
More on how division 50 codes are built
Companies choose their own codes at incorporation and can change them on any confirmation statement, and Companies House does not check the answer. A company may list up to four. That is worth knowing before you treat any division total as a headcount: the numbers here are what companies said about themselves, on the August 2026 register, and the largest single code in this division is 50200, sea and coastal freight water transport.
Working division 50 as a list
Division 50 holds 2 codes and 4,565 active companies between them. One code carries most of it: 50200 accounts for 76 per cent on its own, and the other 1 code accounts for the rest. Filtering by the whole division is therefore close to filtering by 50200 with a tail attached, so start from the code and widen only if the list runs dry.
More on working division 50
A caveat that matters more in some divisions than others: a company may register up to four SIC codes, and the figures below count every position, not just the first. A business filed under two codes in this division appears under both. Treat the totals as reach rather than a headcount, and if you need a clean list, filter to companies whose FIRST code sits in the division. Every company you pull carries the Companies House record, the director's name, a verified website and a verified email, and the ones we cannot complete are not charged.
Every SIC code in division 50
Prospecting this division
Division 50 companies, as leads
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Division 50 questions
Does a freight forwarder arranging sea shipments register under 50200?
No. Division 50 is for companies that operate vessels. A forwarder, shipping agent or NVOCC books space on other people's ships. That belongs in division 52, normally under 52290, other transportation support activities. If your company operates vessels and also arranges third-party freight, register codes from both divisions, up to four in total.
Which code suits a workboat, charter or crew transfer vessel business?
If the vessel carries goods or equipment, or supports offshore work, 50200 is the usual fit. If it carries passengers for hire, whether ferry runs or leisure charters, use the sea and coastal passenger code 50100 instead. Companies House does not check the choice. Pick the one that matches most of your revenue and adjust it later on a confirmation statement.
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