UN/LOCODE CA VAN identifies Vancouver, BC, Canada. UNECE classifies it as seaport and airport. Below: the classifiers, the location reference, the CBP entry code where CBP publishes one, and the Airlift ocean freight lanes serving Canada.
UN/LOCODECA VAN
Place nameVancouver
CountryCanada (CA)
SubdivisionBC
Function classifiersSeaportAirportcode list string 1--45---
IATA airport codeYVR
Using CAVAN on your shipping documents
Carriers print the port of loading and port of discharge on bookings and bills of lading as UN/LOCODEs, so CAVAN is what you will normally see against Vancouver on carrier paperwork and in schedule and tracking feeds. The first two characters, CA, are the ISO 3166-1 country code for Canada; the remaining three identify the place within it.
A UN/LOCODE names a place, not a berth. Where a port city runs several container terminals, UNECE often assigns the terminals their own codes alongside the city code — which is why a booking can legitimately show a code you did not expect. Take the code from the carrier booking rather than picking the one that reads most like the port name.
Schedule D codes are a US-only system, so Vancouver does not have one. If Vancouver is your origin, the Schedule D code that matters is the one for your US port of entry — every US port page in this tool shows it where CBP publishes it.
Airlift ocean freight lanes serving Canada
Lane guides carry the port pairs Airlift actually moves, typical schedule-dependent transit ranges drawn from our own shipment history, commodity notes and customs requirements.
The UN/LOCODE for Vancouver, BC, Canada is CAVAN, printed as CA VAN. The first two characters (CA) are the ISO country code and the last three identify the location. Source: UNECE UN/LOCODE Code List, edition 2024-2.
Location data: UNECE UN/LOCODE Code List, edition 2024-2 — public data published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/CEFACT). UN/LOCODE code list.
Get a quote through Vancouver
Send us the origin and destination and we will come back with a rate and a routing. Airlift USA is a licensed NVOCC with direct carrier contracts on the major US trade lanes; customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed broker network. Transit times we quote are typical and schedule-dependent.