Shipment Tracking Guide
How to Track Container Transshipments
Understand container transshipment milestones, vessel changes, intermediate-port arrivals, discharge, loading, and final-destination status.
A transshipment moves a container between vessel legs at an intermediate port. The shipment can show an arrival and discharge without having reached its final port of discharge.
Typical transshipment sequence
Read milestones chronologically and compare each location with the booked destination.
- First vessel departs the port of loading.
- Vessel arrives at the transshipment port.
- Container is discharged from the first vessel.
- Container waits for the connecting service.
- Container is loaded on the next vessel and departs.
Vessel and voyage changes
A new vessel or voyage after discharge normally represents the connecting leg. The active vessel should be selected from the latest completed loading or departure milestone, not an older vessel identifier.
Avoiding false arrival conclusions
Arrival, discharge, or “arrived by” at an intermediate port should not mark the shipment complete. Completion requires the event location to match the final destination and an appropriate final milestone.
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Frequently asked questions
Why did the vessel name change during tracking?
The container may have been transferred to a connecting vessel at a transshipment port.
Does discharge mean the container is ready for delivery?
Not necessarily. Discharge can occur at an intermediate port before loading onto the next vessel.