What Is a Bill of Lading and an Air Waybill, and How to Track Your Cargo

Every international shipment travels with a key document: the bill of lading (BL) for ocean freight, or the air waybill (AWB) for air freight. Its number tells you where your goods are, and the document itself largely determines whether, and how quickly, they can be released at destination.

This guide explains what each document does, how to read the numbers on it, and how to track your cargo without chasing emails.

What a bill of lading is

A BL is issued by the ocean carrier, or its agent, once it takes charge of the goods. It does three jobs:

1. Receipt for the goods. It confirms what the carrier received, how much, and in what apparent condition.
2. Evidence of the contract of carriage. It records the terms under which the goods move between the port of loading and the port of discharge.
3. Document of title. A negotiable ("to order") BL represents the goods: whoever holds the properly endorsed originals can claim them. That is why banks rely on it under letters of credit.

A straight BL, made out to a named consignee, can't be transferred by endorsement, although many carriers still require an original before releasing the cargo.

Master and house bills of lading

You will often see two layers:

• Master BL (MBL): issued by the shipping line to the freight forwarder or consolidator. The shipper shown is the forwarder, not the actual supplier.
• House BL (HBL): issued by the forwarder to its customer, showing the real shipper and consignee.

With consolidated (LCL) cargo, one MBL covers the whole container and each importer gets its own HBL. If you're weighing the two options, see our guide to FCL vs LCL.

Original BL, telex release and sea waybill

How cargo is released at destination depends on the type of document:

• Original BL: issued as a set of paper originals, often three. The carrier releases the goods against one original. If couriered originals arrive late, the cargo can sit at the port running up charges.
• Telex release: the shipper surrenders the originals at origin and the carrier sends a release message to destination. The consignee needs no paper.
• Sea waybill: non-negotiable, with no originals. The goods are delivered to the named consignee. It suits trading partners who trust each other and don't need bank financing.

Agree the release method with your supplier, or your buyer, before the balance is paid.

Reading a BL number

Many carriers prefix their BL numbers with their SCAC, a four-letter carrier code. A few well-known ones:

• MAEU: Maersk
• MEDU: MSC
• CMDU: CMA CGM
• HLCU: Hapag-Lloyd

Not every carrier follows this pattern, and some tracking pages expect the number without the prefix. If a carrier's site doesn't recognise your number, try it with and without the four letters, or use the container number instead.

Remember that a house BL issued by a forwarder won't show up on the shipping line's website. To track with the carrier you need the MBL, the booking number or the container number.

Reading a container number

Containers are identified under ISO 6346, and owner codes are registered with the Bureau International des Containers (BIC). The number has 11 characters:

Put together, the example reads ABCU 123456 0. If a tracking site says the number is invalid, check you haven't typed the letter O instead of a zero. The check digit exists precisely to catch that kind of slip.

What an air waybill is

The air waybill is the transport document for air cargo. Like a BL, it acts as a receipt and as evidence of the contract of carriage. The crucial difference: an AWB is not a document of title. It isn't negotiable, and the goods are delivered to the consignee named on it.

So when an air shipment is paid by letter of credit, the bank is often named as consignee, or other security is agreed.

Master and house AWB

• Master AWB (MAWB): issued for the airline, usually through a freight forwarder.
• House AWB (HAWB): issued by the forwarder to each customer when several shipments are consolidated under one master.

Reading an AWB number

An air waybill number has 11 digits:

• A three-digit prefix identifying the airline. For example, 134 is Avianca, 020 is Lufthansa and 001 is American Airlines.
• An eight-digit serial, where the last digit is usually a check digit.

A fictitious example in the right format: 134-12345675. The prefix tells you which airline's site to search.

How to track your shipment

Ocean freight

1. Identify the carrier from the BL prefix or the container owner code.
2. Go to its tracking page and enter the BL, booking or container number.
3. Follow the milestones: gate-in at the terminal, loaded on board, departure, transshipment, arrival, discharge and gate-out.

Air freight

1. Identify the airline from the AWB prefix.
2. Enter the master AWB on its site. If you only have a house AWB, ask your forwarder.
3. Common status codes include received from shipper (RCS), departed (DEP), arrived (ARR), received from flight (RCF), consignee notified (NFD) and delivered (DLV).

To save a step, paste your BL, container or AWB number into our tracking tool and we'll send you straight to the carrier's own tracking page.

Following the vessel on AIS

Services such as MarineTraffic plot ship positions from the AIS signals vessels broadcast. That's handy for seeing whether a ship has sailed or is waiting at anchor for a berth, but keep in mind:

• AIS shows the vessel, not your container. With a transshipment, your box may switch ships at an intermediate port.
• Positions can lag, and coverage can have gaps on the open ocean.
• The official ETA is the one the carrier publishes.

Search for the vessel by name or by its IMO number, which appears in your shipment details. Our website also includes a live MarineTraffic map.

Need a hand?

If you have a BL or AWB you can't track, or you're unsure which release method suits your trade with Colombia, Speedy Logistics can look at it with you. Get in touch and we'll tell you where your cargo stands and what comes next.