What is a Marine, Offshore & Wind Farm Fare?

Marine, Offshore and Wind Farm fares are specially negotiated airfares available only to appointed travel management companies (TMC) designed to allow special rates and conditions to travellers who are employed in the marine/offshore & wind farm industry. In most cases, the traveller must be travelling to or from a cruise ship, private yacht, commercial vessel, port, offshore rig or wind farm. Every airline imposes its own eligibility conditions for the use of these fares and some airlines permit travel by shore-side staff employed in the shipping industry.

Who is eligible to travel on Marine, Offshore & Wind Farm Fares?

The use of marine, offshore and wind farm fares is strictly controlled by individual airlines but the eligibility for their use is generally the same and is as follows:

MARINE

1) Seamen travelling on duty to / from a vessel and who are in possession of a valid Seaman’s Book.

2) Staff employed to work on a vessel who are not registered Seamen but who have been added to the ship’s manifest.

3) The spouse or child of a Seaman, travelling to / from a vessel and who has been added to the ship’s manifest.

4) Engineers, Contractors, Surveyors and Superintendents travelling to / from a vessel to carry out work on a vessel, whether in dock or at sea.

5) Persons engaged in the repositioning of semi-submersibles or drilling rigs operating under their own power.

OFFSHORE & WIND FARM

1) Staff engaged in contract drilling of offshore oil and gas wells, as well as land rigs and deep water drilling.

2) Anyone employed to work on an offshore rig providing engineering, mechanical, scientific and management services such as geologists, rig managers, drilling crews, load-handling crews, catering/ living quarter’s crew.

3) In addition, all sub-contractors providing ancillary services such as mud engineers and diving crews providing sub-sea well maintenance.  In addition to normal offshore rigs, jack up rigs, submersibles, drill ships, floating production vessels, land rigs and windmill contractors are also included.

What marine, offshore & wind farm fares are available to travellers booking at Munro’s?

Munro’s has negotiated access with airlines to a wide range of marine and offshore fares – a full listing is available by contacting Munro’s Travel.

How do marine, offshore & wind farm fares benefit our clients? 

These fares can offer significant cost savings to the client of up to 40% compared to published fares. The majority of offshore, marine & wind farm fares are fully flexible and refundable. There also tends to be no charge for excess baggage.  Airlines with offshore, marine & wind farm fares often negotiate contracts with other airlines which mean they can offer add-on fares in order to create through tickets, which is more convenient for the passenger for long-haul destinations.

Do marine, offshore & wind farm fares have penalties or advance purchase requirements?

As a standard rule, offshore, marine & wind farm fares are available for one-way purchase and are fully refundable with no penalties. There are some exceptions to this rule, so we need to quote the fare rules during the booking process.  Stopovers are normally not permitted when travelling on marine and offshore fares.  

What documentation do travellers need for marine, offshore & wind farm fares?

For crew members travelling to or from a ship/vessel, a seaman’s book and a letter of employment is required; a letter on company letterhead explaining the purpose of travel is also accepted along with the seaman’s book.

For crew members travelling to or from a rig or wind farm a letter of employment is required; a letter on company letterhead explaining the purpose of travel is also accepted and vantage card if available.

This does not need to be a complicated letter; the form of words to use might be:

‘Our employee (Name of Passenger) is travelling to (Destination) to undertake work on the MV (Name of Vessel) registered in (Port of Registry) and is entitled to use marine fares’.

(Please note: Depending on the travellers nationality and the airline they are travelling with they may require to present different documents if booked on these fare types. Please double check with the specific airline before travel).

Do travellers require a visa for travel?

Depending upon the traveller nationality, origin, destination and routing, a visa may be required. Travellers should always verify this requirement by contacting their embassy.  MTL Passport & Visa service can advise on all visa requirements and direct your traveller towards assistance for processing the visa.

Can travellers travel one way or do they need to do round trip?

Marine, offshore & wind farm fares are filed as one-way. A roundtrip combines two one-ways.  If offering one way tickets please ensure arrival into Country is permitted without an onward ticket.

Do travellers receive frequent flyer miles on marine and offshore fares?

Most marine, offshore & wind farm fares allow accrual of frequent flyer mileage; however this is not always the full 100% accrual amount.  Please check with the airlines individually.

What is the baggage allowance?

Marine, offshore & wind farm fares typically permit an extra bag for international travel but there are exceptions based on the airline.

Can family/friends travel on marine, offshore & wind farm fares?

Some airlines permit family members including spouses and children to fly on marine fares provided they are travelling with the crewmember on all sectors.                                                                                                                 

Are there any special entries that we need to make when processing marine, offshore & wind farm bookings?

Yes, it is important that you enter the ship/rig name/wind farm location and country of registration into the booking so you must advised these details to your travel consultant.

Who is responsible for ensuring travellers have the correct documentation with them when travelling on marine, offshore & wind farm fares?

Airlines and their representative handling agents do occasionally audit passengers at check-in for the misuse of marine fares. Therefore, whatever the airline’s requirements, we strongly recommend that our clients carry a letter, even if the traveller is in possession of a Seaman’s book.

It is the responsibility of our clients to ensure that their employees carry the correct documentation however it is our responsibility to ensure our clients are made aware of the eligibility and documentation requirement.

Please contact your dedicated team should you have any questions.