6 prefixes · shipping line
Hapag-Lloyd container prefixes
Track on hapag-lloyd.com — official Hapag-Lloyd tracker
Full Hapag-Lloyd container tracking guide →
HLCU, HLXU, HLBU, UACU, UAEU and HAMU are the BIC owner prefixes registered to Hapag-Lloyd. A container number that starts with any of them belongs to the Hapag-Lloyd fleet and is tracked free at hapag-lloyd.com. The eleventh character of the number is a check digit; it is worked out below for each prefix.
Hapag-Lloyd, headquartered in Hamburg, is Europe’s second carrier and the product of a long line of mergers — most recently the 2017 absorption of the Gulf line UASC.
The UASC deal is visible in the register to this day: two ex-UASC codes still circulate alongside the four Hamburg-registered ones, all served by the hapag-lloyd.com tracker.
4 letters + 7 digits, printed on the doors. It is on your bill of lading too.
The answer appears as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.
All 6 Hapag-Lloyd prefixes
| Prefix | A valid number | Check digit | Where the code comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
HLCU | HLCU 246625-4 | 4 | — |
HLXU | HLXU 874925-5 | 5 | — |
HLBU | HLBU 216707-5 | 5 | — |
UACU | UACU 156868-8 | 8 | UACU is ex-UASC — United Arab Shipping Company, merged into Hapag-Lloyd in 2017. |
UAEU | UAEU 216707-5 | 5 | UAEU is the second UASC-heritage code that moved to Hapag-Lloyd with the 2017 merger. |
HAMU | HAMU 326409-0 | 0 | — |
Prefix register verified against two independent sources on 2026-08-03. The example numbers are computed to show the arithmetic. They are valid by construction, not numbers we saw on a box.
Data: BIC Container Prefix Register · ISO 6346:2022
HLCU: check digit, worked through
HLCU is registered to Hapag-Lloyd. Take HLCU 246625-4: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 4.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
H | 18 | ×1 | 18 |
L | 23 | ×2 | 46 |
C | 13 | ×4 | 52 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
2 | 2 | ×16 | 32 |
4 | 4 | ×32 | 128 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
6 | 6 | ×128 | 768 |
2 | 2 | ×256 | 512 |
5 | 5 | ×512 | 2560 |
Sum 4756 → 4756 mod 11 = 4 → check digit 4 → HLCU 246625-4
HLXU: check digit, worked through
HLXU is registered to Hapag-Lloyd. Take HLXU 874925-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
H | 18 | ×1 | 18 |
L | 23 | ×2 | 46 |
X | 36 | ×4 | 144 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
8 | 8 | ×16 | 128 |
7 | 7 | ×32 | 224 |
4 | 4 | ×64 | 256 |
9 | 9 | ×128 | 1152 |
2 | 2 | ×256 | 512 |
5 | 5 | ×512 | 2560 |
Sum 5296 → 5296 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → HLXU 874925-5
HLBU: check digit, worked through
HLBU is registered to Hapag-Lloyd. Take HLBU 216707-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
H | 18 | ×1 | 18 |
L | 23 | ×2 | 46 |
B | 12 | ×4 | 48 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
2 | 2 | ×16 | 32 |
1 | 1 | ×32 | 32 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
7 | 7 | ×128 | 896 |
0 | 0 | ×256 | 0 |
7 | 7 | ×512 | 3584 |
Sum 5296 → 5296 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → HLBU 216707-5
UACU: check digit, worked through
UACU is registered to Hapag-Lloyd. Take UACU 156868-8: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 8.
UACU is ex-UASC — United Arab Shipping Company, merged into Hapag-Lloyd in 2017.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
U | 32 | ×1 | 32 |
A | 10 | ×2 | 20 |
C | 13 | ×4 | 52 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
1 | 1 | ×16 | 16 |
5 | 5 | ×32 | 160 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
8 | 8 | ×128 | 1024 |
6 | 6 | ×256 | 1536 |
8 | 8 | ×512 | 4096 |
Sum 7576 → 7576 mod 11 = 8 → check digit 8 → UACU 156868-8
UAEU: check digit, worked through
UAEU is registered to Hapag-Lloyd. Take UAEU 216707-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
UAEU is the second UASC-heritage code that moved to Hapag-Lloyd with the 2017 merger.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
U | 32 | ×1 | 32 |
A | 10 | ×2 | 20 |
E | 15 | ×4 | 60 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
2 | 2 | ×16 | 32 |
1 | 1 | ×32 | 32 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
7 | 7 | ×128 | 896 |
0 | 0 | ×256 | 0 |
7 | 7 | ×512 | 3584 |
Sum 5296 → 5296 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → UAEU 216707-5
HAMU: check digit, worked through
HAMU is registered to Hapag-Lloyd. Take HAMU 326409-0: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 0.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
H | 18 | ×1 | 18 |
A | 10 | ×2 | 20 |
M | 24 | ×4 | 96 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
3 | 3 | ×16 | 48 |
2 | 2 | ×32 | 64 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
4 | 4 | ×128 | 512 |
0 | 0 | ×256 | 0 |
9 | 9 | ×512 | 4608 |
Sum 6006 → 6006 mod 11 = 0 → check digit 0 → HAMU 326409-0
Tracking a Hapag-Lloyd container
Paste the number into the form at hapag-lloyd.com. We have not tested whether a link can carry the number there, so the checker on this page sends you to the form.
| Container number | ✓ yes |
|---|---|
| Bill of lading (B/L) | ✓ yes |
| Booking reference | ✓ yes |
| Mobile app | ✓ yes |
| Pre-filled link | not tried yet |
| Its bill of lading starts with | HLCU |
Browser-verified 2026-08-03
Can you see where the ship is?
Not from the container. A standard dry box has no power, no radio and no satellite receiver — it is a steel case with a number painted on it, and it reports nothing about itself. Every position you see against a Hapag-Lloyd shipment was reported by something else: a terminal crane, a gate reader, or the ship.
A live map on a carrier’s tracking page is almost always plotting AIS, the transponder every large vessel broadcasts with its position, course and speed. That is genuinely useful at sea: it is a real position rather than a schedule, and an ETA recalculated from actual movement. It is also the ship’s position, not your box’s, and the two part company the moment the container is discharged.
On land the map goes quiet. Between the gate-out and the delivery there is no vessel to follow, and the road leg appears only as whatever events the terminal and the trucker report. A container sitting on a chassis in a yard shows the last position of a ship it left days ago. Only specialised IoT equipment reports its own location, and wherever that exists it is a paid product sold to the shipper, not something a tracking page gives away.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns HLCU, HLXU and HLBU containers?
Hapag-Lloyd does, a shipping line founded in 1970 — the BIC register lists 6 owner prefixes under it: HLCU, HLXU, HLBU, UACU, UAEU and HAMU.
How do I track a HLCU container?
Free, on the official Hapag-Lloyd tracker at hapag-lloyd.com — paste the full 11-character number; no account is needed. The same tracker serves all 6 Hapag-Lloyd prefixes.
Why does Hapag-Lloyd have 6 prefixes?
Because one prefix holds only a million serial numbers and a fleet outgrows it — and because a line that buys another line keeps the codes painted on the boxes it bought. All 6 are tracked on the same hapag-lloyd.com system.
Is HLCU a shipping line prefix or a leasing prefix?
A shipping line prefix — Hapag-Lloyd both owns the box and moves it, so the owner and the tracker are the same company.
Is HLCU2466254 a valid container number?
Yes — HLCU 246625-4 passes the ISO 6346 check: the weighted sum for HLCU246625 leaves a remainder of 4 when divided by 11, which gives check digit 4. It is an example computed for this page, not a box we have seen.
One page, every owner code
Know whose box it is before you search
All 85 owner prefixes mapped to their line or leasing company, with the leased ones marked — so you can tell at a glance when to track with the line instead. Container dimensions are on page two.
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