# Who counts the tugboat fuel when our ship berths at a port?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/tugboat-fuel-when-ship-berths-which-scope

The tug operator burns the fuel, so it is their Scope 1. For a shipping line it is a bought service, Scope 3. For an exporter it usually sits inside the freight emissions your carrier or forwarder reports. Count it once, at the level of the freight figure.

## Who reports it

- Tug owner: Scope 1, from the diesel it burns.
- Port that runs its own tugs: Scope 1.
- Shipping line hiring tugs: Scope 3 purchased services.
- Exporter: inside the sea freight figure, not a separate line.

## Avoid double counting

If your forwarder's report already uses a well-to-wake figure per container, do not add port services again on top.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads bills, fuel invoices and production records into dated, fingerprinted records, so the figure you send a buyer can be traced to its documents.

- [Sea freight per container](https://senseible.earth/answers/sea-freight-emissions-per-container-india-to-europe)
- [Forwarder emissions report](https://senseible.earth/answers/freight-forwarder-emissions-report-scope-3)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard), [Smart Freight Centre, GLEC Framework](https://www.smartfreightcentre.org/en/our-programs/emissions-accounting/global-logistics-emissions-council/)

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.