Free tool · no sign-up
Shipping lines and container numbers
Whose box you have in front of you, and whether the number is right before it goes into any system.
Check a container number
Four letters, six digits and a check digit. That last one exists so a typo shows up now instead of three days later.
This does NOT tell you where the container is. It checks that the number was copied correctly and names the owner behind the prefix. Position is the shipping line’s to give, and each one publishes it on its own site — the links are in the table below.
Type a number and it is checked right here.
Worked out in your browser. The number does not leave here: no request, no logging, nothing stored.
The ten you see most
| Line | SCAC | Prefixes | Their site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maersk | MAEU | MAEU · MRKU · MSKU · MMAU · MWCU · SEAU · MNBU | maersk.com |
| MSC | MSCU | MSCU · MEDU · MSDU · MSMU | msc.com |
| CMA CGM | CMDU | CMAU · CGMU · ECMU · APZU · APHU | cma-cgm.com |
| COSCO Shipping | COSU | COSU · CBHU · CCLU · CSNU · OOLU | coscoshipping.com |
| Hapag-Lloyd | HLCU | HLXU · HLBU · HLCU · UACU · CPSU | hapag-lloyd.com |
| ONE — Ocean Network Express | ONEY | ONEU · MOFU · MOAU · NYKU · KKFU · KKTU | one-line.com |
| Evergreen | EGLV | EGHU · EGSU · EISU · EMCU · IMTU | evergreen-line.com |
| HMM | HDMU | HMMU · HDMU | hmm21.com |
| Yang Ming | YMLU | YMLU · YMMU · YMUU | yangming.com |
| ZIM | ZIMU | ZIMU · ZCSU | zim.com |
The link goes to each line’s root, not to its tracking page: checked on 17 September 2026, half of those deep paths answer with a block that is indistinguishable from a dead route from the outside. Tracking and booking are one click from there, behind each line’s own account.
Prefixes are registered by the BIC (Bureau International des Containers). These are the ones you see in the yard, not the full register: several per line, because every merger brings the absorbed company’s prefixes and they stay in circulation for years.