2 prefixes · shipping line
OOCL container prefixes: OOLU, OOCU
Track on oocl.com — official OOCL tracker
Full OOCL container tracking guide →
OOLU and OOCU are the BIC owner prefixes registered to OOCL. A container number that starts with any of them belongs to the OOCL fleet and is tracked free at oocl.com. The eleventh character of the number is a check digit; it is worked out below for each prefix.
OOCL — Orient Overseas Container Line — is the Hong Kong carrier famous for running some of the biggest ships afloat, and since 2018 a COSCO group member that kept its own brand and systems.
Two codes cover the OOCL pool, and boxes keep tracking on oocl.com rather than the parent’s site, a distinction that trips up plenty of shippers.
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 2 OOCL prefixes
| Prefix | A valid number | Check digit | Where the code comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
OOLU | OOLU 645545-2 | 2 | — |
OOCU | OOCU 376274-1 | 1 | — |
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
OOLU: check digit, worked through
OOLU is registered to OOCL. Take OOLU 645545-2: 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 2.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
O | 26 | ×1 | 26 |
O | 26 | ×2 | 52 |
L | 23 | ×4 | 92 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
6 | 6 | ×16 | 96 |
4 | 4 | ×32 | 128 |
5 | 5 | ×64 | 320 |
5 | 5 | ×128 | 640 |
4 | 4 | ×256 | 1024 |
5 | 5 | ×512 | 2560 |
Sum 5194 → 5194 mod 11 = 2 → check digit 2 → OOLU 645545-2
OOCU: check digit, worked through
OOCU is registered to OOCL. Take OOCU 376274-1: 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 1.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
O | 26 | ×1 | 26 |
O | 26 | ×2 | 52 |
C | 13 | ×4 | 52 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
3 | 3 | ×16 | 48 |
7 | 7 | ×32 | 224 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
2 | 2 | ×128 | 256 |
7 | 7 | ×256 | 1792 |
4 | 4 | ×512 | 2048 |
Sum 5138 → 5138 mod 11 = 1 → check digit 1 → OOCU 376274-1
Tracking a OOCL container
Paste the number into the form at oocl.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 | OOLU |
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 OOCL 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 OOLU and OOCU containers?
OOCL does, a shipping line founded in 1969 — the BIC register lists 2 owner prefixes under it: OOLU and OOCU.
How do I track a OOLU container?
Free, on the official OOCL tracker at oocl.com — paste the full 11-character number; no account is needed. The same tracker serves all 2 OOCL prefixes.
Why does OOCL have 2 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 2 are tracked on the same oocl.com system.
Is OOLU a shipping line prefix or a leasing prefix?
A shipping line prefix — OOCL both owns the box and moves it, so the owner and the tracker are the same company.
Is OOLU6455452 a valid container number?
Yes — OOLU 645545-2 passes the ISO 6346 check: the weighted sum for OOLU645545 leaves a remainder of 2 when divided by 11, which gives check digit 2. 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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