Track a ZIM shipment booked with Airlift USA by container number or Airlift house bill of lading number. For a ZIM number that was not booked through Airlift, use ZIM's own tracker.
Track a ZIM container or Airlift house B/L
Enter the container number or the Airlift house bill of lading number from your Airlift booking confirmation.
Airlift milestones for ZIM bookingsKeyed in by the Airlift operations team from ZIM's notices and the terminal.
On Airlift SealanesZIM carrier page →8 carrier services and 17 ships on 25 Airlift routes, schedules as of 2026-09-18
ZIM number formats: container, bill of lading, booking
A container number is eleven characters: a four-letter owner prefix ending in U, a six-digit serial and a check digit, printed on the door of the box and on the booking confirmation. The prefix names the owner of the container, which may be a leasing company rather than ZIM, so the same ZIM shipment can move in boxes with different prefixes. Take the number from the container or the booking rather than guessing the prefix.
ZIM gives ZCSU1234567 as the container example.
ZIM gives ZIMUBCN1234567 as the example for both bill of lading and booking numbers: the ZIMU prefix, three letters and seven digits.
Two bills of lading exist on an NVOCC shipment. The master bill is issued by ZIM to Airlift and carries ZIM's numbering; the house bill is issued by Airlift to the shipper and is the number on your Airlift booking confirmation. The Airlift tracker resolves the house bill and the container number; ZIM's tracker resolves its master bill, its booking number and the container number. ZIM's Track a Shipment takes up to 10 references at once, separated by a comma, a space or a line break.
What the tracking statuses mean
The words carriers, terminals and the Airlift timeline use for the same events, and where each shows on this tracker.
Status
What it means
On the Airlift timeline
Gate in
The loaded container has been received at the origin terminal (or an inland depot) and is waiting for its ship.
Gate In, ICD Gate In, Port Gate In
Loaded / on board
The container has been lifted onto the vessel. The on-board date is the date the bill of lading is issued against.
Load on (vessel)
Discharged
The container has been lifted off the vessel at a port, either at a transshipment hub or at the final port of discharge.
Discharge / Arrived at port
Available for pick-up
A terminal status, not a carrier one: the box has been discharged, the customs release and the carrier release are in, and any terminal holds are cleared, so a trucker can collect it. This tracker shows the customs release and the truck load; the terminal availability status is on the terminal system.
Customs Clearance, then Load On Truck
Empty return
The consignee has emptied the container and returned it to the depot the carrier named. It closes the detention period.
Empty return to Container Yard
Every milestone the Airlift timeline can show, in journey order
Booking Requested. Airlift has received the booking; the request date is the first event on the timeline.
Container Picked up. The empty container has been collected from the carrier depot for stuffing at origin.
Gate In / ICD Gate In / Port Gate In. The loaded container has entered the inland container depot or the port terminal at origin. On this tracker the ICD and port gate-ins are shown as separate events when the box moves through both.
Load on (vessel), with voyage number. The container is on board the named ship. On a transshipment routing each leg has its own load event, so the vessel name can change along the way.
Discharge / Arrived at port. The container has been landed at a port: at a transshipment hub it is Discharge followed by the next Load on; at the port of discharge it is Arrived at port. Before the actual date is known the event reads Est. Arrival or Revised Est. Arrival.
Customs Clearance. The US entry has been released; recorded when the broker confirms release.
Load On Rail / Arrived at Rail ramp / Unloaded from Rail. Shown only when the final destination is inland and the carrier moves the box by rail from the port of discharge.
Load On Truck. The container has left the terminal or rail ramp on a truck for delivery.
Delivered / Est.Delivery. The container has reached the consignee (or the estimated date, before it does). Where the customer collects the box the event is Customer Pick up instead.
Empty return to Container Yard. The emptied container has been returned to the carrier depot. Demurrage and detention clocks are measured against the discharge and pick-up dates that precede this.
Estimated dates are ZIM's schedule at the time of the last update and change without notice; an event shown as Est. or Revised Est. has not happened yet.
ZIM services on Airlift Sealanes
Read from ZIM's published schedules on the Airlift port pairs, as of 2026-09-18. The ZIM carrier page lists every service and ship; each service page shows the port rotation, the ships and the transit days.
India to US services
ZIM services seen on 21 India to US port pairs in the schedule window. Lane guide: India to USA ocean freight.
If the shipment was booked through Airlift USA, enter the container number or the Airlift house bill of lading number in the tracker above and press Track; the timeline shows every milestone Airlift holds for the box. The tracker resolves shipments booked through Airlift USA and the Airlift group offices on any carrier; it does not query ZIM for a number Airlift never booked. For a ZIM container that was not booked through Airlift, use ZIM's own tracker, which accepts bill of lading number, booking number or container number.
Reviewed September 2026. Number formats and tracker scope from ZIM's own pages: ZIM — Track a Shipment. Milestone names are the Airlift tracker's own. Sealanes counts are from the committed schedule snapshot.
Need help with a ZIM shipment?
Tell us the container or bill of lading number, where the box is headed and what you need — an arrival notice, the customs entry, drayage, or a quote for the next shipment — and the team comes back to you. Airlift USA is a licensed NVOCC (FMC OTI 016162); customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed broker network.
