This article contains the difference between valid and invalid master bill of lading numbers.
Master bill of lading numbers for most international shipping companies follow the same format of SCAC + master bill of lading number. If your bill of lading number does not follow this format, it may be a house bill of lading number which is not currently supported by the Vizion API.
Otherwise, no additional formatting is required when passing a master bill of lading number to the API via the Create Reference via Bill of Lading endpoint or optionally via the Create Reference via Carrier Code endpoint.
We highly recommend providing the bill of lading number to the Vizion API exactly as it is provided to you.
Below, you can find generic examples of each supported carrier's known master bill of lading format as of January 2024 based on what is acceptable via that carrier's own tracking webpage. This may not be the source of truth indefinitely, but these are the trends that we have observed based on the month and year previously mentioned.
| Carrier | Carrier Code | MBL Formatting | Example |
| Australia National Line | ANNU | 3 letters + 7 numbers | ABC1234567 |
| APL | APLU | 3 letters + 7 numbers | ABC1234567 |
| CMA CGM | CMDU | 3 letters + 7 numbers | ABC1234567 |
| COSCO | COSU | 10 numbers | 1234567890 |
| Evergreen | EGLV | 12 numbers | 123456789012 |
| Hamburg Suud | SUDU | 12 alphanumeric characters | A1B2C3D4E5F6 |
| Hapag-Lloyd | HLCU | HLCU + 2 letters + (1 letter or 1 number) + 9 alphanumeric characters | HLCUABC1A2B3C4D5 |
| Hyundai | HDMU | 4 letters + 8 numbers | ABCD12345678 |
| Korea Marine Transport | KMTU | 10 characters (3 letters + 7 numbers, or 4 letters + 6 numbers) | ABC1234567, or ABCD123456 |
| Maersk | MAEU | 9 numbers | 123456789 |
| Matson | MATS | 10 numbers | 1234567890 |
| MSC | MSCU | MEDU + 2 alphanumeric characters +6 numbers | MEDUA1234567, or MEDUAB123456 |
| ONE Line | ONEY | 12 characters (3 letters + 9 numbers, or 4 letters + 8 numbers) | ABC123456789, or ABCD12345678 |
| OOCL | OOCL | 10 numbers | 1234567890 |
| Pacific International Line | PCIU | 12 characters (3 letters + 9 numbers, or 4 letters + 8 numbers) | ABC123456789, or ABCD12345678 |
| Sinokor | SNKO | SNKO + 12 numbers | SNKO123456789012 |
| SM Lines | SMLM | 12 characters (3 letters + 9 numbers, or 4 letters + 8 numbers) | ABC123456789, or ABCD12345678 |
| Wan Hai | WHLC | 3 numbers + 2 letters + 5 numbers | 123AB12345 |
| Yang Ming | YMLU | 1 letter + 9 numbers | A123456789 |
| ZIM | ZIMU | 3 letters + 4 to 7 numbers | ABC1234, ABC12345, ABC123456, or ABC1234567 |