Those on board ship?

I believe there are census returns for those on board ship at the time.
What would this cover? Only British registered vessels? Only British

Eve McLaughlin...

I had great fun trying to decipher the names of a group of Andorran
sailors on a Spanish ship, in a British harbour. So anyone if they are
in British waters; and for the later censuses, British ships even in
foreign waters., But unless passengers slept aboard, i can't see that
they would have chased tourists into the hinterland.

subjects? Ships in foreign harbour (with potentially some folks
ashore)?

I ask because I can find no trace of my g-grandad George Kirkbride
(father's name was Alexander) who I'm told (though I have not been able
to confirm this) was Irish born (1868 or thereabouts), possibly Ulster.

Eve McLaughlin...

If he was recorded on an Irish census, you can forget about it, on the
whole.

He was a sailor, listed as a fireman on the marriage certificate, and
I believe he sailed on the Empress Queen at some point (Isle Of Man
ferry). There is no trace of him in any census I can find; indeed the
only confirmation of his existence at all is the marraige certificate
(m Margaret McDougall, nee Riley in 1897 in Liverpool).

I don't know where else to look for him or his family.