SeaRates called the tracking news in its week 36 post of 4 September 2020 “great news for partners using tracking on their website”. For shipping line tracking the post listed twelve new lines, put the total at 35 and attached no figure for coverage, speed or accuracy to the algorithm work it credited. The same release added cargo editing and booking tracking to the Virtual Office, sped up ZIM schedules and said a 3D view of cargo stuffing was in development. The post now redirects to the DP World homepage.
Shipping line tracking: twelve lines in a week
The new entries were Regional Container Lines (RCL), Trans Asian Shipping Services, Sea Hawk Lines (SHAL), Emirates Shipping Line, Avana Global FZCO, BLPL Singapore, Econship, Stolt Tank Containers (STC), Westwood Shipping Lines, T.S. Lines, Sarjak Container Lines and China Navigation Company, listed as Swire Shipping. Talks with further lines were under way, and users could write in to request a specific one. The post credited improved data transmission algorithms with faster vessel location, wider coverage and a more accurate cargo position.
Westwood and Swire: two entries, one brand
Westwood served the transpacific trade between the Pacific Northwest and Japan, Korea and China. Swire’s 2022 release gave Westwood’s headquarters as Puyallup, Washington. On 30 June 2022 Swire Shipping said its affiliate SSPL US Inc. had closed its purchase of Westwood from J-WeSco, a subsidiary of the Sumitomo Warehouse Co. The stated aim was a wider liner network with first- and last-mile land services added. Swire Shipping announced on 1 February 2024 that Westwood would trade under the Swire Shipping name from that date. Seven vessels of the Swire fleet were to run on the Westwood service, four of them keeping the Westwood name and green hulls.
The dates give the gap. The purchase closed 664 days after the week 36 post, about 22 months, and the rename took effect 1,245 days after it, almost three years and five months. Westwood and China Navigation, both on the September 2020 list, trade under the one Swire Shipping name from February 2024, so the twelve entries stand for no more than eleven carriers.
In EDI data a carrier is told apart by its SCAC, a unique two-to-four-letter code from the National Motor Freight Traffic Association. Westwood Shipping carries WWSU and Swire Shipping carries CHVW, and the carrier directory still lists them on separate pages. Navo’s tracker covers 231 carriers, 198 of them through direct connectors, and takes a container number, bill of lading or booking reference for the same timeline.
Stolt already had its own tracking page
Stolt Tank Containers described its Track and Trace service in a news item dated 4 March 2020, 184 days before the week 36 post. Every booking came with a link holding a unique code. No registration was needed, and the customer could pass the link on to its own customers. By Stolt’s account the page, reached through that link, confirmed the specification of each tank, flagged schedule changes and reported short shipments.
Smaller items, and what stayed unfinished
Virtual Office users could now edit the cargo in a booking (Virtual Office, Booking, View details, Cargo). The shipment could be followed under View details, Schedule. ZIM schedules answered faster, and according to the post the earlier display problems were gone. Four terms got glossary articles: freight, freight forwarder, bill of lading and customs clearance. A Distances & Time API page showed how to display distance and transport time by sea, road, rail and air on a website.
Container loading in the load calculator had been tested in full, and weight accounting now used two parameters, free area and permissible weight. The 3D view of stuffing was still in development. A new version of Logistics Explorer was promised to be more user-friendly, and updated API documentation for third-party developers was being written. In its Digital Freight Alliance section the post reported new members from Kazakhstan, Poland, the USA, Bulgaria and the UAE, and put the total at 124 members from 53 countries.
Frequently asked questions
A vessel still carries the Westwood name on its hull. Which line do I search?
Swire Shipping. Its release of 1 February 2024 says Westwood changed its name to Swire Shipping that day, and that seven vessels from the Swire fleet run on the Westwood service, four of them keeping the Westwood name and green hulls. The name on a hull therefore does not identify the line. Read the carrier name and code on the booking documents.
My booking shows a four-letter carrier code. What is it and who issues it?
It is most likely a SCAC, the Standard Carrier Alpha Code, a unique code of two to four letters that identifies a transportation company. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association developed it in the mid 1960s, and it is used in X12 and EDIFACT messages. Navo's carrier pages show the code for each line, for example WWSU for Westwood Shipping.
Do I need a login to follow a tank container on the line's own page?
For Stolt Tank Containers in March 2020, no. Each booking came with a link containing a unique code, no registration was needed, and the link could be shared with other parties. That is how Stolt described the service on its site then, so check its current page before relying on it.