What is a bill of lading number?
A bill of lading (BL) is the document issued for goods shipped by sea. It acts as a receipt for the cargo, as evidence of the contract of carriage and, in its negotiable form, as a document of title. The BL number identifies that document, and it is one of the references you can use to track the shipment.
Master BL and house BL
The master bill of lading is issued by the ocean carrier to the party that booked the shipment, often a freight forwarder. The house bill of lading is issued by a forwarder or NVOCC to its own customer.
The carrier only knows its own master BL. If your document is a house BL, its number will not be found at the carrier: ask your forwarder for the master BL number or track the container numbers instead.
What a BL number looks like
There is no single international format: each carrier numbers its BLs its own way. Many master BLs start with the carrier's 4-letter SCAC code, followed by letters and digits. Some patterns BerthTime recognises:
- COSCO: COSU followed by 10 digits (the booking number with COSU in front).
- Maersk: MAEU followed by the 9-digit booking number.
- ONE: ONEY followed by 12 letters or digits.
- HMM: HDMU followed by 12 letters or digits.
- ZIM: ZIMU, a 3-letter office code, then digits; the booking usually has the same number.
- Evergreen: EGLV followed by 12 digits.
- MSC: MEDU or MSCU followed by letters and digits.
These are the usual patterns, not guarantees: always use the number exactly as printed on your document.
Where to find it
The BL number is printed on the bill of lading itself, usually at the top, often labelled "B/L No.". It also appears on the arrival notice and on the documents your forwarder sends. A sea waybill, which is not a document of title, has a number of its own that is used in the same way.
Tracking by BL number
One BL can cover several containers. When you track a master BL in BerthTime, all its containers are added and followed in one timeline. Start a free trial, or read How to track a container.