According to stats released by industry body Discover Ferries, passenger numbers went up a full million in 2014, from 38 million in 2013.
The four major companies operating on British routes, DFDS, P&O Ferries, MyFerryLink and Stena Line, posted an increase in their numbers.
Passenger cars carried by ferry were up 1.6% at 8.5m in 2014.
More than 163,300 coaches were carried in the same spell, marking a 3.1%
