Container Milestones
OpenTrack Ocean Visibility
OpenTrack provides visibility into over 97% of global ocean shipments, standardizing the most relevant and reliable data. This ensures you receive real-time, trustworthy information for comprehensive ocean freight tracking.
Data is aggregated from a broad range of sources—including all major ocean carriers and steamship lines, North American ports, terminals, and rail carriers—so you never miss a key event.
OpenTrack generates uniform milestones by normalizing data across all carriers and systems. These standardized milestones and data fields are available through the OpenTrack API and the OpenTrack Dashboard.
| Milestone | Description |
|---|---|
| EMPTY OUTGATED | Container empty outgated to shipper at origin |
| FULL INGATED | Container full ingated from shipper at origin |
| LOADED ON BARGE AT ORIGIN | Container loaded onto barge at origin |
| BARGE DEPARTED FROM ORIGIN | Container departed from origin to port of lading |
| BARGE BERTHED AT ORIGIN PORT | Container berthed at port of lading |
| DISCHARGED FROM BARGE AT ORIGIN PORT | Container discharged from barge at port of lading |
| LOADED | Container loaded onto vessel at port of lading (ATD) |
| VESSEL DEPARTED | Container's vessel has departed from origin at port of lading (ATD) |
| VESSEL ARRIVED AT TRANSSHIPMENT PORT | Container's vessel has arrived at transshipment port anchorage area |
| VESSEL BERTHED AT TRANSSHIPMENT PORT | Container's vessel has berthed at transshipment port terminal |
| DISCHARGED AT TRANSSHIPMENT PORT | Container discharged at transshipment port |
| LOADED AT TRANSSHIPMENT PORT | Container loaded at transshipment port |
| VESSEL DEPARTED FROM TRANSSHIPMENT PORT | Container's vessel has departed from transshipment port |
| VESSEL ARRIVED | Container's vessel has arrived at final port of discharge anchorage area |
| VESSEL BERTHED | Container's vessel has berthed at terminal at final port of discharge (this is the true vessel ATA) |
| DISCHARGED | Container discharged from vessel at terminal at final port of discharge |
| LOADED ON BARGE AT DESTINATION PORT | Container loaded onto barge at port of discharge |
| BARGE DEPARTED FROM DESTINATION PORT | Container departed from port of discharge to final destination |
| BARGE BERTHED AT DESTINATION | Container berthed at final destination |
| DISCHARGED FROM BARGE AT DESTINATION | Container discharged from barge at final destination |
| AVAILABLE | Container available for pick at terminal |
| FULL OUTGATED | Container full outgated from terminal |
| FULL INGATED TO OFFDOCK FACILITY | Container full ingated at off-dock facility |
| AVAILABLE AT OFFDOCK FACILITY | Container available for pick up at off-dock facility |
| FULL OUTGATED FROM OFFDOCK FACILITY | Container full outgated from off-dock facility |
| FULL DROPPED OFF AT TRUCKER YARD | Container full dropped off at trucker yard |
| FULL PICKED UP FROM TRUCKER YARD | Container full picked up from trucker yard |
| DELIVERED | Container delivered to final destination |
| EMPTY READY FOR PICKUP | Container empty available for pick up at final destination |
| EMPTY PICKED UP FOR RETURN | Container empty picked up at final destination |
| EMPTY DROPPED OFF AT TRUCKER YARD | Container empty dropped off at trucker yard |
| EMPTY PICKED UP FROM TRUCKER YARD | Container empty picked up from trucker yard |
| EMPTY RETURNED | Container ingated empty to terminal |
| Click here to see Rail milestones |
| Data | Description |
|---|---|
| LOADING VESSEL | Loading vessel from the initial ocean port of loading |
| CURRENT VESSEL | Vessel the container is currently on |
| MOTHER VESSEL | Mother vessel to the final port of discharge |
| VOYAGE NUMBER | Mother voyage to the final port of discharge |
| ORIGIN PORT | Container port of loading |
| TERMINAL AT ORIGIN PORT | Terminal at the initial ocean port of loading |
| VESSEL ETD | ETD of the vessel from the initial ocean port of loading |
| EARLY RETURN DATE | Date of earliest physical return of the full container to be loaded at the origin port |
| CUTOFF DATE | Date of latest physical return of the full container to be loaded at the origin port |
| DOCUMENT CUTOFF DATE | Date of the latest allowed submission of the Shipping Instruction for export |
| DESTINATION PORT | Container port of discharge |
| TERMINAL AT DESTINATION PORT | Terminal at the final port of discharge |
| MOTHER VESSEL ETA | ETA to berthing at terminal at final port of discharge (Estimated Time of Arrival). This always refers to berthing, not arrival at port anchorage area. |
| LAST FREE DAY | Last free day at terminal at final port of discharge |
| DEMURRAGE INCURRED | Dollar amount of demurrage accrued during the current voyage at the terminal at final port of discharge |
| DEMURRAGE OWED | Dollar amount of demurrage currently due at the terminal at final port of discharge |
| TERMINAL APPOINTMENT DATE | Container appointment date issued by the terminal |
| HOLDS | Container holds information reported by terminal |
| LAST KNOWN POSITION | Last known position of container (lat, long) |
| Click here to see Rail data fields |
Rail Visibility Milestones + Data Fields
OpenTrack provides detailed visibility into rail shipments through standardized milestones and data fields.
👉 To view the complete list of rail statuses and data points, click here to visit the full OpenTrack Rail Visibility page.
Tracking Termination Criteria
OpenTrack continues to track containers using data from steamship lines, terminals, rail carriers, and AIS sources multiple times per day.
Tracking will stop once any of the following conditions are met:
- We received the last reportable status from the steamship line
- The container has been in FULL OUTGATED status for more than 200 days
- The ocean carrier has stopped reporting any updates
Updated 4 months ago