Visibility
Tracking Korea shipments and custody across carriers
One container from a factory in Gyeonggi to a warehouse in Ohio passes through six or more organizations. Each one knows part of the story. None of them knows all of it.
Who holds the shipment, and when
Status for this one shipment lives in the forwarder's system, the ocean carrier's portal, the terminal's system, the customs systems on both sides, the trucker's app and the warehouse's WMS. Each uses its own reference number: booking, bill of lading, container number, entry number or delivery order.
Which number finds what
| Reference | Issued by | Use it to find |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase order | Buyer | What was ordered, and which shipment it went on |
| Booking number | Carrier or forwarder | Space on a sailing, cut-off dates, empty container release |
| Export declaration number (수출신고번호) | Korea Customs Service via UNI-PASS | Export clearance status and loading confirmation in Korea |
| Container and seal numbers | Container owner; seal applied at stuffing | Terminal gate moves, vessel loading, and evidence the box was not opened |
| Master and house bill of lading | Carrier (master), forwarder or NVOCC (house) | Carrier milestones; the house B/L is what the shipper usually holds |
| Air waybill (master and house) | Airline and forwarder | Flight bookings and air cargo status |
| ISF transaction and US entry number | CBP systems, via the importer's filer | US security filing status, customs release and holds |
| Delivery order and appointment | Terminal, trucker, warehouse | Pickup, drayage and receiving |
Getting the house and master bills of lading linked early matters most for LCL cargo, where one container carries goods for many shippers; see FCL vs LCL. The documents behind each number are listed in the shipping documents checklist.
Why that matters
- Exceptions surface late. A customs hold in one system is invisible to the warehouse planning a delivery appointment in another.
- Disputes are slow to resolve. When goods arrive damaged or short, reconstructing who held them, and when, means collecting records from every party. The answer can still be contested.
- "Where is it?" means different things. A position from a GPS tracker, a carrier milestone and an estimate based on the vessel schedule are different kinds of fact. Treating an estimate as a measurement produces confident wrong answers.
Keeping one record
The fix is not another portal. It is a single record of the shipment that holds:
- The journey as legs: truck, port, vessel, port, rail or truck. Not a single "current location" field.
- Every custody handover: who took responsibility, when, and on whose authority.
- Positions labeled by source and age, so a tracker fix from ten minutes ago is never confused with a location estimated from a milestone.
- The documents (invoice, packing list, B/L, export certificate, origin certification) attached to the movement they belong to, and retrievable after the shipment closes.
That is what Cargovate does. It keeps one operational record of where goods are, who holds them and what happened on the way, and imports data from the systems forwarders and shippers already run. See how it works for freight forwarders and for shippers.
A handover checklist
- Record who hands over, who receives, the time and the place at each handover.
- Note the container and seal numbers at stuffing, at the terminal gate and at delivery, and flag any change.
- Photograph cargo condition and packaging at pickup and at receipt.
- Keep the Incoterms rule on the record, so everyone knows where risk passed; see Incoterms 2020 for Korea trade.
- Record customs events as their own milestones, including holds and releases, rather than folding them into a generic "in transit" status.
Common questions
How do I track a container shipped from Korea?
Use the container number or bill of lading number on the ocean carrier's tracking page for vessel milestones, and the terminal's system for gate moves. For the full picture, including customs and final delivery, you need the forwarder's and broker's status too, which is why a single shipment record helps.
Why does the carrier show "discharged" when my goods are not available?
Discharge from the vessel is not release. The container may still be waiting for customs release, freight payment, a terminal hold to clear, or a delivery appointment.
What evidence helps in a damage or shortage claim?
A record of each handover with times, seal numbers, condition notes and photos, plus the invoice and packing list. The claim deadlines themselves depend on the contract of carriage and the law that applies, so check them with your forwarder or insurer as soon as a problem appears.
Last reviewed 2026-09-17