COSCO
Container Tracking
COSU is COSCO's SCAC, not a container prefix, and that distinction sends a lot of searches nowhere. Enter a container, bill of lading or booking number for the latest carrier and terminal milestones.
What a COSCO tracking number looks like
The lookup above accepts any of these in the same field. If one returns nothing, try another. Carriers release milestone data against different identifiers at different stages.
Container number
4 letters + 7 digits (11 characters)
CSNU1234567Standard ISO 6346. COSU is not valid here: it is a SCAC and is not registered as a container owner code at all.
Bill of lading number
Alphanumeric, no publicly documented fixed length
COSU1234567890COSCO does not publish a B/L specification. Enter the number exactly as printed on your document.
Booking number
Alphanumeric
1234567890Accepted in the same field as container and B/L numbers.
COSCO container prefixes
These owner codes are registered to COSCO SHIPPING Lines Co., Ltd. in the BIC ISO 6346 register. Containers moving under a COSCO booking may also carry a leasing company's prefix. A leased box is still your shipment, the prefix just does not identify the carrier.
How to track a COSCO shipment
- 1
Find your container or BL number
It is printed on your bill of lading, your booking confirmation, or on the container door itself. Any of the three works in the search box above.
- 2
COSCO is already selected
Because you are on the COSCO page, the carrier dropdown is filled in for you. If you actually need a different line, change it. The selection is not locked.
- 3
Enter the number and press Track
Type it exactly as printed. Spaces and dashes are fine, but a mistyped letter will return nothing, since the check digit at the end only validates against the correct serial.
- 4
Read the milestone timeline
You will see terminal and vessel events from origin gate-in through to empty return, plus the vessel and voyage your box is actually on.
You can also check COSCO's own portal directly at COSCO cargo tracking . The advantage of tracking here is keeping several carriers on one screen instead of one portal per line.
About COSCO
COSCO SHIPPING Lines in its current form dates from 2016, when China’s two state-owned container carriers, COSCON and China Shipping Container Lines, were merged by government direction into a single entity. The corporate lineage goes back to 1961, and you will see both dates quoted depending on which milestone the source is counting.
The merger left COSCO with container fleets from two separate companies, which is why its prefixes are split across entities: CSNU sits with COSCO Shipping Lines, CCLU and CSLU with COSCO Shipping Development Asia. Add Florens, the group’s leasing arm, and a single COSCO booking can produce boxes stencilled four different ways.
COSCO also holds a majority stake in OOCL, acquired in 2018. The two lines coordinate through the Ocean Alliance but have deliberately kept separate brands, booking platforms and container prefixes, a distinction that matters the moment you try to track one on the other’s system.
COSCO tracking: what to check first
COSU is not a container prefix. This is the error worth checking before anything else. COSU is COSCO’s SCAC, used on customs and EDI filings. It is not in the BIC owner-code register at all, so a number beginning COSU is a bill of lading or a filing reference, never a container. Several tracking aggregator sites list COSU as a container prefix and show COSU1234567 as an example. That example is invalid.
The box may be Florens rather than COSCO. CBHU containers move under COSCO bookings constantly, but CBHU is registered to Florens, the group’s leasing company. The box is fine and your shipment is fine; the prefix just does not identify the carrier.
You are on the wrong sister line. OOCL numbers do not resolve on COSCO and COSCO numbers do not resolve on OOCL, despite the ownership relationship. If you have paperwork from both, check which brand issued the document you are holding.
COSCO’s intra-Asia and Middle East services rely heavily on transshipment through the large Chinese and Southeast Asian hubs. Expect the timeline to go quiet between hub discharge and reloading. That gap is normal, and it is also where a missed connection quietly adds a week.
What each COSCO tracking status means
Ocean carriers share the same terminal and vessel event vocabulary, so these milestones read the same whichever line you are tracking.
Gate in
The container passed through the terminal gate at the origin port and is now in the terminal's custody, waiting to be loaded.
Loaded on vessel
The box was lifted onto the ship. This is the milestone that fixes your shipment to a specific vessel and voyage number.
Vessel departure
The ship has sailed from the origin port. Transit time is measured from here, and it is the point most ETA calculations are anchored to.
Transshipment
The container was discharged at an intermediate hub and will be reloaded onto a second vessel. Most delays originate here rather than at origin.
Discharged
The container came off the ship at the destination port. Free time and demurrage clocks typically start from this event.
Gate out
The container left the terminal on a truck or rail wagon. Once this fires, the terminal's storage charges stop and the haulier's clock starts.
Empty return
The unpacked container was returned to the carrier's nominated depot. This closes the shipment and stops any per-diem detention charges.
Where COSCO shipments usually move
COSCO tracking questions
Is COSU a COSCO container prefix?
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No, and this is the most common COSCO tracking mistake. COSU is COSCO's SCAC, a four-letter carrier identifier for customs and EDI filings. It is not registered in the BIC container owner-code register, so COSU1234567 is not a valid container number and will never resolve as one.
Which container prefixes does COSCO use?
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CSNU, registered to COSCO Shipping Lines, plus CCLU and CSLU registered to COSCO Shipping Development Asia. You will also see CBHU on COSCO bookings, and that is Florens, COSCO's container leasing arm, so the box is leased rather than carrier-owned.
Is OOCL the same as COSCO?
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Related but not the same. COSCO Shipping has held a majority stake in OOCL since 2018 and both sit inside the Ocean Alliance, but they run separate booking systems and separate container prefixes. An OOCL number will not resolve on a COSCO portal, and vice versa.
What does a COSCO container number look like?
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Eleven characters: CSNU, CCLU or CSLU, then the letter U, then seven digits, as in CSNU1234567. The final digit is a checksum over the preceding ten.
When was COSCO Shipping Lines formed?
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The current entity dates from 2016, when COSCON and China Shipping Container Lines merged into COSCO SHIPPING Lines. The corporate lineage runs back to 1961, which is why you will see both dates quoted.
Why is my COSCO number not found?
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First confirm you are not searching the SCAC as a container prefix. After that, the usual causes apply: a number the carrier has not released yet, a transcription error, or a shipment that has already closed and been retired from the tracking system.
Does Maalbardaar charge for COSCO tracking?
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No. Tracking is included with a free Maalbardaar account, which also lets you keep shipments across several carriers on one dashboard instead of checking each carrier's portal separately.
Every carrier on one dashboard.
Stop checking COSCO's portal separately from everyone else's. Track your whole book of shipments in one place.
Not shipping with COSCO?
Track any of these lines from the same dashboard, or use the general tracking page if your carrier is not listed.
Ocean carriers
Air cargo
Maalbardaar is an independent logistics technology platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by COSCO SHIPPING Lines Co., Ltd.. "COSCO" and all related marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only. For official information, visit the carrier's own website . Carrier data sources: CSNU confirmed against the BIC ISO 6346 register as COSCO Shipping Lines; CCLU and CSLU as COSCO Shipping Development Asia. CBHU is deliberately excluded: it is registered to Florens, COSCO's leasing arm, not to the carrier. Current entity formed 2016 from the COSCON/CSCL merger, with corporate lineage to 1961.