| Guide | GDE-091 |
| Topic | Shipping container tracking |
| Domain | Maritime intelligence |
| Last tested | 4 November 2026 |
Short answer: To trace a shipping container, validate its 11-character number with the check digit, look up the owner code in the BIC register, then read dated events on the carrier's tracking page. Carrier tracking shows where a box moved, not what it carried.
What is container tracking?
Container tracking is following a shipping container by its ISO 6346 number through owner, carrier, vessel and customs records to establish where it has been, when and for whom. For investigators, it turns the number painted on a steel box into a dated, sourced movement record.
Every container in international trade carries an 11-character number: a three-letter owner code, a category letter, a six-digit serial and a check digit. The Bureau International des Containers (BIC) has kept the owner-code register since 1970, part of ISO 6346 since 1972. Carriers log each gate, rail and vessel move.
Investigators use these records to test a claim, date a photo or tie a shipment to a ship.
| • | Verifying a photo that shows a container number |
| • | Checking a claim that goods left or reached a port |
| • | Identifying the owner behind a container prefix |
| • | Linking a shipment to the vessel that carried it |
| • | Finding the importers of a product in the US or UK |
How do you track a shipping container by its number?
Seven tools and seven steps take you from the number on a box to a dated record of its owner, movements, vessel and trade paperwork. Five more sources are listed at the end of the tools, each marked not tested.
Status as of 4 November 2026, free sources first.
BIC Code register: The BIC Code register names the owner and country behind any owner code, free with no login, and hosts a check digit calculator. Working.
track-trace: track-trace routes a container number to the matching carrier's tracking page, free with no login. Working.
BoxTech: BoxTech is BIC's database of owner-posted specifications, such as tare weight. Every lookup needs a free account. Not tested.
ImportYeti: ImportYeti compiles US sea import records; company searches are free, full shipment lists paid. Working.
UK Trade Info: UK Trade Info is HMRC's free search of UK importers and exporters by commodity code and month, without values or countries. Working.
MarineTraffic: MarineTraffic shows a vessel's current voyage and last departure free; position history is paid. Working, with limits.
VesselFinder: VesselFinder shows a vessel's last port and departure time free; port call history is paid. Working, with limits.
Panjiva: Panjiva is S&P Global's subscription trade-record service, drawing on shipment and customs records from 30 sources. Not tested, 4 November 2026: it is sold by subscription.
ImportGenius: ImportGenius is a paid customs shipment-record search, with plans starting at $229 a month, or $183 a month billed annually, on its site. Not tested, 4 November 2026: it needs a paid plan.
UN Comtrade: UN Comtrade Plus offers free access to national customs trade statistics by commodity and trading partner, with bulk download reserved for premium subscribers, and covers countries rather than individual shipments. Not tested beyond its home page, 4 November 2026.
AISHub: AISHub is an AIS data-sharing exchange whose data is for members who contribute their own AIS feed, so it is not a drop-in free substitute for MarineTraffic or VesselFinder. Not tested, 4 November 2026.
Global Fishing Watch: Global Fishing Watch publishes open-access maps and data on human activity at sea, including fishing, and was not checked for container-ship coverage. Not tested, 4 November 2026.
What we tested: On 4 November 2026 we tested each tool with public inputs only: the ISO 6346 sample number CSQU3054383, the constructed number CSQU300014, two Hapag-Lloyd containers from a dated Wikimedia Commons photo, three owner codes, the company name Ikea and the ship Ever Given. Track-trace, ImportYeti, MarineTraffic and VesselFinder gave partial results, and BoxTech was not tested: track-trace routed the sample number to Hapag-Lloyd and its frame stayed blank, ImportYeti bills listed container counts rather than numbers, MarineTraffic's port call log was locked and VesselFinder's port call history showed no rows, and BoxTech asks for an account before any lookup.
Returned 3 for CSQU305438 and 0 for the constructed CSQU300014 (remainder 10), matching our own calculation. | ||
3 of 3 codes resolved: CSQU and HLBU (Hapag-Lloyd) and TGHU (Textainer, a lessor). | ||
Routed the sample number to Hapag-Lloyd; its frame stayed blank because Hapag-Lloyd blocks framing, so results opened only on the carrier's page. | ||
HLBU 991869-2 last gated in at Toronto on 14 October 2026; HLBU 977725-4 loaded at Vancouver on 3 November 2026. The sample number showed a planned 2025 ETA and no event. | ||
Asks for an account before any lookup. | ||
Ikea: 302 profiles; bills list container counts, and numbers appear only where a filer typed one into the description. | ||
Ikea: 4,893 trader and commodity rows; latest month on the first page July 2026. | ||
Ever Given's Singapore departure matched within three minutes (20:42 and 20:45 UTC) once MarineTraffic's UTC+8 time was converted; MarineTraffic's port call log is locked. | ||
Paid, contributor-only or not queried; UN Comtrade checked at its home page only. |
This is a one-day snapshot of free tiers, with one to three public inputs per tool, not a reliability benchmark. Panjiva, ImportGenius, UN Comtrade, AISHub and Global Fishing Watch were reviewed on 4 November 2026 and not tested: Panjiva and ImportGenius are paid, UN Comtrade was opened at its home page only, AISHub needs a contributed AIS feed and Global Fishing Watch was not checked for container ships.
The Event Date Rule: Read the date on every carrier event before you rely on it. A record with no recent event describes an old journey, not the one in your source.