Reading the letters and digits
Formats vary by carrier. Many voyage numbers combine a sequence number with a direction letter, such as E, W, N or S, and some add a year or a service code. At the port where a loop turns around, the arriving and departing legs can carry different voyage numbers, even though the ship never leaves the berth in between. Treat the full code, letters included, as part of the identifier.
Vessel plus voyage identifies the sailing
Schedules, cut-offs and ETAs all belong to a vessel and voyage, not to a vessel alone. Compare the pair on the booking confirmation, the bill of lading and the tracking record. If any one of them changes, the container may have been moved to a different trip. For supported shipping lines, CargoScope can track a shipment by its booking number, which helps before a container number has been assigned.
Voyage mix-ups that cause wrong dates
Most voyage errors come from reading the right ship on the wrong trip. A vessel's next rotation can be weeks away, so an ETA taken from the wrong voyage can be badly off. Teams that retype numbers by hand, or copy schedules from a partner carrier, are most exposed, and transshipped bookings add a second vessel and voyage to keep straight.
- Same vessel, later voyage: a different sailing entirely
- Partner carriers quoting their own code for one call
- Direction letters dropped when numbers are retyped
Example
A booking for MSCU1234566 lists the vessel with voyage 412W. If the box is rolled to the same ship's next westbound trip, the voyage number changes even though the vessel name stays the same.
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Questions
What does Voyage Number mean?
A voyage number is the code a carrier uses to identify one specific trip of a vessel on a service. Paired with the vessel name, it pins down exactly which sailing a container is booked on, since the same ship repeats its route many times.
Where do I find the voyage number?
It appears on the booking confirmation, the bill of lading and the carrier's sailing schedule, next to the vessel name. Arrival notices usually repeat it for the vessel that reaches the POD.
Why does my voyage number not match the terminal's schedule?
Carriers sharing a vessel can each assign their own voyage number, and terminals may use their own reference for the call. Match on vessel name and dates, then confirm with the carrier.