Who owns IWCU containers
IWCU is registered to Interpool, a lessor that rents containers to shipping lines on long-term and one-way leases.
Leasing companies own a large share of the world's box fleet. An IWCU container can sail with one line today and with another after the next lease, and the shipping line reports the moves, not the lessor.
How to read an IWCU container number
Every container number has eleven characters under ISO 6346. The first three letters (IWC) are the owner code registered with the BIC in Paris. The fourth letter is the equipment category: U, freight containers: the dry, reefer, open top, flat rack and tank boxes that travel on ships, trains and trucks.
Then come six serial digits and one check digit. In IWCU1234560, a format example, 123456 is the serial and 0 is the check digit. It is calculated from the first ten characters, so a single mistyped letter or digit almost always shows up as a wrong check digit.
How to track an IWCU container
Enter the full number in the box on this page. Navo24 tries the lines that carry Interpool boxes and shows the events of the one that has it on a booking, with the vessel's live position and an ETA.
For a leased box the most reliable key is the bill of lading or booking number of the shipping line, since the line, not Interpool, reports the moves. Add the line in the Carrier field on tracking.navo24.com if you know it.
Questions about IWCU
Who owns IWCU containers?
Interpool, a container leasing company. The box is rented to shipping lines.
How do I track an IWCU container?
Type the seven digits after IWCU into the tracking box on this page. No sign-up is needed for a single lookup.
What does the U in IWCU mean?
It is the ISO 6346 equipment category: freight container.
Why does my IWCU number show a wrong check digit?
One character is probably mistyped: O and 0, I and 1, or two swapped digits. Check the number printed on the container door or on the bill of lading.