ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

27/1/2014 ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_6346 1/10

BIC code on the end

of a shipping

container

ISO-code and dimension/load table at

several newly washed containers

ISO 6346From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ISO 6346 is an international standard covering the coding, identification and markingof intermodal (shipping) containers used within containerized intermodal freighttransport. The standard establishes a visual identification system for every containerthat includes a unique serial number (with check digit), the owner, a country code, asize, type and equipment category as well as any operational marks. The standard ismanaged by the International Container Bureau (BIC).

Contents

1 Identification System

1.1 Owner Code

1.2 Equipment Category Identifier

1.3 Serial Number

1.4 Check Digit1.4.1 Calculation Step 1

1.4.2 Calculation Step 2

1.4.3 Calculation Step 3

1.4.4 Example1.4.5 Code Sample 1

1.4.6 Code Sample 2

1.5 Practical Problems

2 Size and Type Codes

3 Country Code (Optional)

4 Mandatory Operational Marks5 References6 See also

7 External links

Identification System

Example of an ISO 6346 conform container number:

Owner Code



The owner code consists of three capital letters of the Latin alphabet to indicate the owner or principal operatorof the container. Such code needs to be registered at the Bureau International des Conteneurs in Paris to ensureuniqueness worldwide.

Equipment Category Identifier

The equipment category identifier consists of one of the following Four capital letters of the Latin alphabet:

U for all freight containers

J for detachable freight container-related equipment

Z for trailers and chassis

R for reefer containers (cooling containers, mostly with their own refrigeration system)

Serial Number

The serial number consists of 6 numeric digits, assigned by the owner or operator, uniquely identifying thecontainer within that owner/operator's fleet.

Check Digit

The check digit consists of one numeric digit providing a means of validating the recording and transmissionaccuracies of the owner code and serial number.

Calculation Step 1

An equivalent numerical value is assigned to each letter of the alphabet, beginning with 10 for the letter A (11and multiples thereof are omitted):

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 34 35 36 37 38

The individual digits of the serial number keep their numeric value.

Calculation Step 2

Each of the numbers calculated in step 1 is multiplied by 2position, where position is the exponent to base 2.Position starts at 0, from left to right.

The following table shows the multiplication factors:

1. nbr 2. nbr 3. nbr 4. nbr 5. nbr 6. nbr 7. nbr 8. nbr 9. nbr 10. nbr

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512



Calculation Step 3

a) Sum up all results of step 2b) Divide them by 11c) Erase all decimal digits of the division (i. e. make the result an integer value)d) Multiply the integer value by 11e) Subtract result of d) from result of a): This is the check digit!

If the final difference is 10, then the check digit becomes 0. To ensure that this does not happen, the standardrecommends that serial numbers should not be used which produce a final difference of 10, however there arecontainers in the market which do not follow this recommendation, so handling this case has to be included if acheck digit calculator is programmed.

Notice that step b) to e) is a calculation of the remainder found after division of a) by 11. Most programminglanguages have a modulo operator for this. Attention should be paid on how it is working in the languagechosen; i. e. if it is giving back the decimal rest or the integer rest in order to get proper results. 11 is used asdivisor because a container number has 11 letters and digits in total. In step 1 the numbers 11, 22 and 33 areleft out as they are multiples of the divisor.

Example

C S Q U 3 0 5 4 3 8 Calc.

13 30 28 32 3 0 5 4 3 8

x x x x x x x x x x

1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512

= = = = = = = = = =

13 60 112 256 48 0 320 512 768 4096 6185 [a)]

b) Division by 11: 562.272...

c) Erase decimal digits: 562

d) Multiply by 11: 6182

a) minus d) = Check Digit: 3

Code Sample 1

Below is a code Snippet implementing the above algorithm in MATLAB validating string "cid":

%% Step 1 char2num = [10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 34 35 36 37 38]; msk = logical([1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]); % mask separating digits from numberscid( msk) = char2num(cid( msk)-'A'+1); % letters to numbers conversioncid(~msk) = cid(~msk)-'1'+1; % digit characters to numbers conversionvec = double(cid);%% Step 2num = sum(vec(1:10).* 2.^ (0:9));%% Step 3check_digit = mod(mod(num,11),10);valid = (check_digit==vec(11));



Code Sample 2

Below is the Visual Basic code to create a custom "ISO6346Check" function in Microsoft Excel that returns thecorrect check digit:

Function ISO6346Check(k As String) ' Calculates the ISO Shipping Container Check DigitDim i%, s&Application.VolatileFor i = 1 To 10s = s + IIf(i < 5, Fix(11 * (Asc(Mid(k, i)) - 56) / 10) + 1, Asc(Mid(k, i)) - 48) * 2 ^ (i - 1)Next iISO6346Check = (s - Fix(s / 11) * 11) Mod 10End Function

Practical Problems

In day-to-day business it happens that containers do appear which do not follow the ISO 6346 identification atall, however they are fully CSC safety approved containers. Usually these are "shippers owned" containers,which means that they are not owned by the carrier but supplied by the cargo owners (shippers). They mayhave no registered owner code and no category identifier and have no check digit. It is advisable to follow ISO6346 as the absence of a compliant identification code causes problems for both carriers and container terminalsto correctly identify the equipment and properly deliver the cargo, because computer systems require ISO 6346conformant naming and as such missing prefixes are invented. For example YYYY at the carrier and XXXX atthe terminal causes the equipment to mismatch.

Size and Type Codes

The codes are compiled of the following elements:

First character, representing the length (coded)

Second character, representing the width and height (coded)Third and fourth character indicating the type of the container

The following is an overview of the most common codes:

ISO Type Group ISO Size Type

Code Description Code Description

20GP GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.20G0 GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

20G1 GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

20HR ISOLADO CONTAINE REEFER 20H0 INSULATED CONTAINER

20PF FLAT (FIXED ENDS) 20P1 FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

20TD TANK CONTAINER

20T3 TANK CONTAINER

20T4 TANK CONTAINER

20T5 TANK CONTAINER

20T6 TANK CONTAINER



20TG TANK CONTAINER 20T7 TANK CONTAINER

20T8 TANK CONTAINER

20TN TANK CONTAINER

20T0 TANK CONTAINER

20T1 TANK CONTAINER

20T2 TANK CONTAINER

22BU BULK CONTAINER 22B0 BULK CONTAINER



22HR INSULATED CONTAINER 22H0 INSULATED CONTAINER

22PC FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)

22P3 FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)

22P8FLAT (COLL.FLUSH

FOLDING)


22PF FLAT (FIXED ENDS)22P1 FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

22P7 FLAT (GENSET CARRIER)

22RC REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD) 22R9 REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)

22RSBUILT-IN GEN. F. POWER

SPLY OF REEF22R7

BUILT-IN GEN. F. POWER

SPLY OF REEF

22RT REEFER CONTAINER 22R1 REEFER CONTAINER

22SN NAMED CARGO CONTAINER 22S1 NAMED CARGO CONTAINER

22TD TANK CONTAINER

22T3 TANK CONTAINER

22T4 TANK CONTAINER

22T5 TANK CONTAINER

22T6 TANK CONTAINER

22TG TANK CONTAINER22T7 TANK CONTAINER

22T8 TANK CONTAINER

22TN TANK CONTAINER

22T0 TANK CONTAINER

22T1 TANK CONTAINER

22T2 TANK CONTAINER

22UP HARDTOP CONTAINER 22U6 HARDTOP CONTAINER

22UT OPEN TOP CONTAINER 22U1 OPEN TOP CONTAINER

22VH VENTILATED CONTAINER

22V0 VENTILATED CONTAINER



25GPGP-CONTAINER OVER-

HEIGHT25G0

GP-CONTAINER OVER-

HEIGHT

GP-CONTAINER OVER- GP-CONTAINER OVER-



26GP HEIGHT 26G0 HEIGHT


28TG TANK FOR GAS 28T8 TANK FOR GAS

28UT OPEN TOP (HALF HEIGHT) 28U1 OPEN TOP (HALF HEIGHT)

28VHVE-HALF-HEIGHT =1448 MMHEIGHT

28V0VE-HALF-HEIGHT =1448 MMHEIGHT

29PL PLATFORM 29P0 PLATFORM

2EGPGEN. PURP. WITHOUT VENT

WIDTH 2.5M2EG0

HIGH CUBE CONT. (WIDTH

2.5M)






42P8FLAT (COLL.FLUSHFOLDING)


42PF FLAT (FIXED ENDS) 42P1 FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

42PS FLAT (SPACE SAVER) 42P6 FLAT SPACE SAVER


42RS REEFER CONT.(DIESEL GEN.) 42R3 REEFER CONT.(DIESEL GEN.)

42RT REEFER CONTAINER 42R1 REEFER CONTAINER

42SN NAMED CARGO CONTAINER 42S1 NAMED CARGO CONTAINER

42TD TANK CONTAINER42T5 TANK CONTAINER

42T6 TANK CONTAINER

42TG TANK CONTAINER 42T8 TANK CONTAINER

42TN TANK CONTAINER 42T2 TANK CONTAINER

42UP HARDTOP CONTAINER 42U6 HARDTOP CONTAINER


45BK BULK CONTAINER 45B3 BULK CONTAINER

45GP HIGH CUBE CONT.45G0 HIGH CUBE CONT.

45G1 HIGH CUBE CONT.



45P8FLAT (COLL.FLUSHFOLDING)


45RTREEFER HIGHCUBECONTAINER

45R1REEFER HIGHCUBECONTAINER




45UP HIGH CUBE HARDTOP CONT. 45U6 HIGH CUBE HARDTOP CONT.


48TG TANK FOR GAS 48T8 TANK FOR GAS

49PL PLATFORM 49P0 PLATFORM

4CGP GP CONTAINER 4CG0GP CONTAINER (WIDTH 2.5

M)

L0GP HIGH CUBE CONT. L0G1 HIGH CUBE CONT.



Use the below to calculate Size/Type of a less commonly used ISO 6346 containers:

ISO Length Codes Second size code character

Code Container length CodeContainer

heightWidth

1 10 0 8

8

2 20 2 86

3 30 4 9

4 40 5 96

B 24 6 > 96

C 246 8 43

G 41 9



R1 Integral Reefer - Mechanically refrigerated and heated

R2 Integral Reefer - Self-powered mechanically refrigerated

R3 Integral Reefer - Self-powered mechanically refrigerated and heated

H0Refrigerated or heated with removable equipment located externally; heat transfer

coefficient K=0.4W/M2.K

H1 Refrigerated or heated with removable equipment located internally

H2Refrigerated or heated with removable equipment located externally; heat transfer

coefficient K=0.7W/M2.K

H5 Insulated - Heat transfer coefficient K=0.4W/M2.K

H6 Insulated - Heat transfer coefficient K=0.7W/M2.K

U0 Open Top - Openings at one or both ends

U1 Open Top - Idem + removable top members in end frames

U2 Open Top - Openings at one or both ends + openings at one or both sides

U3 Open Top - Idem + removable top members in end frames

U4 Open Top - Openings at one or both ends + partial on one and full at other side

U5 Open Top - Complete, fixed side and end walls ( no doors )

T0 Tank - Non dangerous liquids, minimum pressure 0.45 bar



T3 Tank - Dangerous liquids, minimum pressure 1.50 bar




T7 Tank - Gases, minimum pressure 9.10 bar

T8 Tank - Gases, minimum pressure 22.00 bar

T9 Tank - Gases, minimum pressure to be decided

B0 Bulk - Closed

B1 Bulk - Airtight

B3 Bulk - Horizontal discharge, test pressure 1.50 bar

B4 Bulk - Horizontal discharge, test pressure 2.65 bar

B5 Bulk - Tipping discharge, test pressure 1.50 bar

B6 Bulk - Tipping discharge, test pressure 2.65 bar

P0 Flat or Bolter - Plain platform

P1 Flat or Bolter - Two complete and fixed ends

P2 Flat or Bolter - Fixed posts, either free-standing or with removable top member

P3 Flat or Bolter - Folding complete end structure



P4 Flat or Bolter - Folding posts, either free-standing or with removable top member

P5 Flat or Bolter - Open top, open ends (skeletal)

S0 Livestock carrier

S1 Automobile carrier

S2 Live fish carrier

Country Code (Optional)

The country code consists of two capital letters of the Latin alphabet as described in ISO 3166. It indicates thecountry where the code is registered not the nationality of the owner or operator of the container. The letters ofthe code shall not be less than 100 mm high.

Mandatory Operational Marks

Operational marks are intended solely to convey information requested for the movement of containers or givevisual warnings. They relate to

the weight of containers

a symbol to denote air-surface container

a sign warning of overhead electrical danger

height marks for containers higher than 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)

References

Bureau International des Containers: Containers BIC-Code (printed brochure)

Container Numbering Guide (http://www.containerhandbuch.de/chb_e/stra/stra_03_03_00.html)

See also

Standard Carrier Alpha Code

UIC wagon numbers

The following is a list of further freight container related ISO specifications, where not all have anarticle assigned yet (you can help improve Wikipedia and start one):

ISO 668 - Freight containers - Classification, dimensions and ratings

ISO 830 - Freight containers - Terminology

ISO 1161 - Freight containers - Corner fittings - Specification

ISO 1496 - Freight containers - Specification and testingISO 2308 - Hooks for lifting freight containers of up to 30 tons capacity - Basic requirements

ISO 3874 - Freight containers - Handling and securing

ISO 8323 - Freight containers - Air/surface (intermodal) general purpose containers - Specification and

tests

ISO 9669 - Freight containers - Interface connections for tank containers

ISO 9711 - Freight containers - Information related to containers on board vessels

ISO 9897 - Container equipment data exchange (CEDEX)



ISO 10368 - Freight thermal containers - Remote condition monitoring

ISO 10374 - Freight containers - Automatic identification

External links

Bureau International des Containers (BIC) (http://www.bic-code.org)

Intermodal Check Digit Calculator (http://www.gwii.com/check-digit-calculator.html)

BIC Code Identifier (http://www.bic-code.org/official-register-containers-bic-code.html)

Freight Container Check Digit Calculator (http://checkdigit.tripod.com/) (includes Java source code for

download *Static Java Method does not convert "10" check digit to "0")

ITCO technical questions (http://www.itco.be/itco_technical.htm)

List of owner codes (http://www.prefixlist.com/) (not the official BIC site)Online check digit calculator (http://www.cassilon.com/checkdigit.cfm)

Russian maritime register of shipping - BIC representation (http://www.rs-

head.spb.ru/en/s_container01_en.php)

Container numbers validator (http://shipping-container-info.com/container-number/check-digit-validator)

Get container dimensions and type by ISO code (http://shipping-container-info.com/size-type-

info/shipping-container-size-type)

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ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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