Hapag-Lloyd
Container Tracking
Hapag-Lloyd carries prefixes from two large mergers, and one code widely listed as theirs actually belongs to a leasing company. Enter a container, bill of lading or booking number for the latest milestones.
What a Hapag-Lloyd 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)
HLCU1234567Standard ISO 6346. UACU boxes came from UASC and CSQU from CSAV, and both are Hapag-Lloyd now.
Bill of lading number
Longer than most, commonly HLCU plus an office code and digits
HLCUHAM123456789Hapag-Lloyd does not publish a specification, but its bills of lading are noticeably longer than other carriers' and often embed a three-letter office code. Enter exactly what is printed.
Booking number
Alphanumeric
12345678Accepted in the same field as container and B/L numbers.
Hapag-Lloyd container prefixes
These owner codes are registered to Hapag-Lloyd AG in the BIC ISO 6346 register. Containers moving under a Hapag-Lloyd 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 Hapag-Lloyd 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
Hapag-Lloyd is already selected
Because you are on the Hapag-Lloyd 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 Hapag-Lloyd's own portal directly at Hapag-Lloyd cargo tracking . The advantage of tracking here is keeping several carriers on one screen instead of one portal per line.
About Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd is the product of a very long series of mergers. The company itself dates from 1970, when Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG, founded 1847) combined with Norddeutscher Lloyd, founded 1857. Since then it has absorbed CP Ships, CSAV’s container business, UASC in 2017 and NileDutch, and each of those left traces in the container fleet.
That history is why Hapag-Lloyd has five registered owner codes. HLCU, HLXU and HLBU are its own; UACU arrived with UASC and CSQU with CSAV. All five are now registered to Hapag-Lloyd AG, so all five track as Hapag-Lloyd regardless of what the stencil suggests about the box’s origin.
Hapag-Lloyd’s centre of gravity is the Atlantic and Latin American trades rather than intra-Asia, and it has stayed a pure container line while several competitors expanded into logistics. For a shipper that mostly means a narrower product set and a relatively conservative schedule.
Hapag-Lloyd tracking: what to check first
TGHU is not Hapag-Lloyd. It belongs to Textainer, a leasing company. Aggregator sites list it as a Hapag-Lloyd prefix because Hapag-Lloyd leases Textainer boxes in volume, but the BIC register is unambiguous. Your container is still on a Hapag-Lloyd booking. The prefix simply names the owner. The same applies to Triton, Beacon and Seaco codes appearing on Hapag-Lloyd cargo.
The B/L number is genuinely that long. Hapag-Lloyd bills of lading run to roughly sixteen characters and embed a three-letter office code. People assume they have copied something extra and trim it, which breaks the search. Enter the whole string as printed.
UACU and CSQU are Hapag-Lloyd, not UASC or CSAV. Neither carrier exists independently any more. If you are working from older documentation issued under the acquired brand, the container will still resolve, but a house bill from a forwarder will not, whichever carrier it names.
On the Middle East and Indian subcontinent services that matter for Pakistani imports, Hapag-Lloyd routes through Gulf hubs, so expect a transshipment leg and a quiet stretch in the timeline while the box waits for its connection.
What each Hapag-Lloyd 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 Hapag-Lloyd shipments usually move
Hapag-Lloyd tracking questions
Is TGHU a Hapag-Lloyd container prefix?
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No. TGHU is registered to Textainer Equipment Management, a container leasing company based in Bermuda. Several tracking sites list it as Hapag-Lloyd, presumably because Hapag-Lloyd leases a lot of Textainer boxes. The container is genuinely on your Hapag-Lloyd booking; the prefix just identifies the owner, not the carrier.
Which container prefixes does Hapag-Lloyd use?
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HLCU, HLXU, HLBU, UACU and CSQU, all registered to Hapag-Lloyd in the BIC register. UACU came from the 2017 UASC merger and CSQU from CSAV, so both are inherited fleets rather than separate carriers.
Why is my Hapag-Lloyd bill of lading number so long?
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Hapag-Lloyd B/L references are longer than most carriers' and typically include a three-letter office code between the HLCU prefix and the digits, which pushes them to around sixteen characters. It looks wrong next to a nine-digit Maersk B/L, but it is correct. Enter it exactly as printed.
What does a Hapag-Lloyd container number look like?
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Eleven characters: one of the five Hapag-Lloyd owner codes, then the letter U, then seven digits, as in HLCU1234567. The final digit is a checksum over the preceding ten characters.
What is Hapag-Lloyd's SCAC code?
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HLCU, the four-letter identifier used on US customs and EDI filings. It matches one of the container prefixes, which happens with some carriers and not others, since the two are separate registries.
Are UASC shipments now Hapag-Lloyd?
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Yes. UASC merged into Hapag-Lloyd in 2017 and its container fleet kept the UACU prefix, which is now registered to Hapag-Lloyd. UASC no longer exists as a separate carrier, so UACU boxes track as Hapag-Lloyd.
Does Maalbardaar charge for Hapag-Lloyd 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 Hapag-Lloyd's portal separately from everyone else's. Track your whole book of shipments in one place.
Not shipping with Hapag-Lloyd?
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 Hapag-Lloyd AG. "Hapag-Lloyd" 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: Prefixes confirmed individually against the BIC ISO 6346 owner-code register. TGHU is deliberately excluded: it is registered to Textainer, a leasing company, despite being widely listed as Hapag-Lloyd. Founded 1970 by the merger of HAPAG (1847) and Norddeutscher Lloyd (1857). SCAC cross-corroborated across two published lists.