latest from BC Ferries regarding butane/propane fuel canisters and bear spray

[ELS]

Received from BC ferries:

From: DG Office <dg.bcf@bcferries.com>
Date: June 5, 2026 at 9:23:20 AM PDT
To: DG Office <dg.bcf@bcferries.com>, Thomas Colton <tcolton@berkeley.edu>
Subject: RE: Website Dangerous Goods Query

Hi Thomas,

Apologies for the delay. I have been trying to confirm one of your questions.

#1 - On the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, when we will have a car:

• can we bring 6 propane/butane fuel cylinders (250g each) marked UN2037 in the car?

If no other camping fuels or propane are carried, vehicle passengers can carry up to three (3) 1L containers of gaseous camping fuel (for example: UN1978, UN2037, UN1075, UN1268, and UN1950), or up to one (1) 5L container of liquid camp stove fuel without requiring dangerous goods documentation.

• can we bring our 2 cans of bear spray in the car?

Yes. Must be secured in the vehicle.

• do we need to fill out a dangerous goods shipping document for the fuel and/or the bear spray?

No. No Dangerous Goods shipping document is required.



#2 On the ferry from Port Hardy to Klemtu, where we expect to be foot passengers with kayaks on your trailer and our gear mostly in your baggage carts (though we are on the wait list to bring our car on the ferry):

• can we bring 6 propane/butane fuel cylinders marked UN2037 in a separate bag to hand to the crew as we did in 2024?

If no other camping fuels or propane are carried, foot passengers can carry up to three (3) 1L containers of gaseous camping fuel (for example: UN1978, UN2037, UN1075, UN1268, and UN1950), or up to one (1) 5L container of liquid camp stove fuel without requiring dangerous goods documentation.

Confirming the stowage question

• can we bring our 2 cans of bear spray in our carry-on luggage or in our baggage on the cart?

Still Confirming

• do we need to fill out a dangerous goods shipping document for the fuel and/or the bear spray?

No. No Dangerous Goods shipping document is required.

• If we get off the wait list to bring our car on the ferry, can the fuel cylinders and bear spray stay in our car?

If no other camping fuels or propane are carried, vehicle passengers can carry up to three (3) 1L containers of gaseous camping fuel (for example: UN1978, UN2037, UN1075, UN1268, and UN1950), or up to one (1) 5L container of liquid camp stove fuel without requiring dangerous goods documentation.

Bear spray permitted.

Once I have the additional answers I will reach out.

Best Regards

***Please be advised that this is not a pre-approval, the Loading Officer or Terminal Staff give the final approval for carriage of dangerous goods on BC Ferries after reviewing documentation, packaging, quantities and stowage.



Thank you for taking the time to contact us prior to travel.



Dangerous Goods Office
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.

1321 Blanshard Street | Suite 500 | Victoria, BC | V8W 0B7

 

[Twempie]

This is brought to you from Dr. Google - for those of us that glaze over when trying to digest government small talk:

• UN1978: Propane (or Petroleum gases, liquefied). This is an extremely flammable gas primarily used as a heating or vehicle fuel. [1, 2, 3]
• UN2037: Gas Cartridges (flammable or non-flammable). This refers to small, non-refillable receptacles holding gas, often used for camp stoves or portable torches. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• UN1075: Liquefied Petroleum Gases (LPG). This is the overarching hazard classification for petroleum gases. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• UN1268: Petroleum Distillates, n.o.s. (Not Otherwise Specified). This serves as the classification code for generic or specific flammable liquid petroleum products. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• UN1950: Aerosols. This covers any non-toxic or toxic aerosol product released by a compressed or liquefied gas propellant. [1, 2]

 

[Kayak Jim]

I used to burn kerosene in my Peak 1 Apex 2 stove. It needed to be primed and would smoke a bit on start up but then was fine. MUCH less flammable than white gas and thus safer all round. Kerosene has a UN1223 so (apparently) falls outside the restrictions above.

And so if I read the above correctly, folks (from the vehicle) could simply walk on with three cannisters each.

 

[dmon707]

I used to burn kerosene in my Peak 1 Apex 2 stove. It needed to be primed and would smoke a bit on start up but then was fine. MUCH less flammable than white gas and thus safer all round. Kerosene has a UN1223 so (apparently) falls outside the restrictions above.

And so if I read the above correctly, folks (from the vehicle) could simply walk on with three cannisters each.

I've used kerosene with an MSR multi-fuel stove. It does not burn as hot as gasoline. Closer to alcohol in efficiency.

 

[cougarmeat]

Interesting and aggravating that they didn't answer your question about the fuel. The number of canisters exceeds their numbers, but the amount of fuel - which I'd think is more important - did not. 6 x 250ml is 1.5L, is it not? And that is less than the 5L and 3L limits.

 

[ELS]

I think they mean only 3 canisters, each up to 1 L, per person. It's your problem if small canisters don't provide you with enough fuel and you can't find or don't want to use larger canisters.