ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

6/29/2014
ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ISO 6346
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ISO 6346 is an international standard covering the coding, identification and marking of
intermodal (shipping) containers used within containerized intermodal freight transport.
The standard establishes a visual identification system for every container that includes a
unique serial number (with check digit), the owner, a country code, a size, type and
equipment category as well as any operational marks. The standard is managed by the
International Container Bureau (BIC).
Contents
1 Identification System
1.1 Owner Code
1.2 Equipment Category Identifier
BIC code on the end

of a shipping
container
1.3 Serial Number

1.4 Check Digit
1.4.1 Calculation Step 1
1.4.4 Example
1.4.5 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 Marks
5 References
6 See also
7 External links
ISO-code and dimension/load table at

several newly washed containers
Identification System
Example of an ISO 6346 conform container number:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_6346
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Owner Code
The owner code consists of three capital letters of the Latin alphabet to indicate the owner or principal operator of
the container. Such code needs to be registered at the Bureau International des Conteneurs in Paris to ensure
uniqueness 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 the container
within that owner/operator's fleet.
Check Digit
The check digit consists of one numeric digit providing a means of validating the recording and transmission
accuracies 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 (11 and
multiples thereof are omitted):
A
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
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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
16
32
64
128
256
512
Calculation Step 3
a) Sum up all results of step 2
b) Divide them by 11
c) Erase all decimal digits of the division (i. e. make the result an integer value)
d) Multiply the integer value by 11
e) 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 standard
recommends that serial numbers should not be used which produce a final difference of 10, however there are
containers in the market which do not follow this recommendation, so handling this case has to be included if a
check digit calculator is programmed.
Notice that step b) to e) is a calculation of the remainder found after division of a) by 11. Most programming
languages have a modulo operator for this. Attention should be paid on how it is working in the language chosen; i.
e. if it is giving back the decimal rest or the integer rest in order to get proper results. 11 is used as divisor because
a container number has 11 letters and digits in total. In step 1 the numbers 11, 22 and 33 are left out as they are
multiples of the divisor.
Example
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13
30
28
32
16
32
64
128
256
512
13
60
112
256
48
320
512
768
4096
b) Division by 11:
Calc.
6185 [a)]
562.272...
c) Erase decimal digits:
562
d) Multiply by 11:
6182
a) minus d) = Check Digit:
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 numbers
cid( msk) = char2num(cid( msk)-'A'+1);
% letters to numbers conversion
cid(~msk) =
cid(~msk)-'1'+1;
% digit characters to numbers conversion
vec = double(cid);
%% Step 2
num = sum(vec(1:10).* 2.^(0:9));
%% Step 3
check_digit = mod(mod(num,11),10);
valid = (check_digit==vec(11));
Code Sample 2
Below is the Visual Basic (VBA) code to create a custom "ISO6346Check" function in Microsoft Excel (Alt +
F11) that returns the correct check digit:
Function ISO6346Check(k As String) ' Calculates the ISO Shipping Container Check Digit
Dim i%, s&
Application.Volatile
For i = 1 To 10
s = s + IIf(i < 5, Fix(11 * (Asc(Mid(k, i)) - 56) / 10) + 1, Asc(Mid(k, i)) - 48) * 2 ^ (i - 1)
Next i
ISO6346Check = (s - Fix(s / 11) * 11) Mod 10
End Function
Practical Problems
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In day-to-day business it happens that containers do appear which do not follow the ISO 6346 identification at all,
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 may have no
registered owner code and no category identifier and have no check digit. It is advisable to follow ISO 6346 as the
absence of a compliant identification code causes problems for both carriers and container terminals to correctly
identify the equipment and properly deliver the cargo, because computer systems require ISO 6346 conformant
naming and as such missing prefixes are invented. For example YYYY at the carrier and XXXX at the terminal
causes the equipment to mismatch. Moreover, since ISO 6346 identification has become a requirement in
international Customs conventions (Customs Conventions on Containers and Istanbul Convention), many Customs
Administrations have begun validating that containers are marked as per the standard.
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
Code
Description
20G1
GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.
ISOLADO CONTAINE REEFER
20H0
INSULATED CONTAINER
FLAT (FIXED ENDS)
20P1
FLAT (FIXED ENDS)
20T3
TANK CONTAINER
20T4
TANK CONTAINER
20T5
TANK CONTAINER
20T6
TANK CONTAINER
20T7
TANK CONTAINER
20T8
TANK CONTAINER
20T0
TANK CONTAINER
20T1
TANK CONTAINER
20T2
TANK CONTAINER
22B0
BULK CONTAINER
22G0
22G1
20HR
20PF
20TN
Description
20TG
Code
20G0
20GP
20TD
ISO Size Type
TANK CONTAINER
TANK CONTAINER
TANK CONTAINER
22BU
BULK CONTAINER
22GP
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22HR
22PC
INSULATED CONTAINER
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
22H0
INSULATED CONTAINER
22P3
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
22P8
FLAT (COLL.FLUSH FOLDING)
22P9
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
22P1
FLAT (FIXED ENDS)
22P7
FLAT (GENSET CARRIER)
22PF
FLAT (FIXED ENDS)
22RC
REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)
22R9
22RS
BUILT-IN GEN. F. POWER

SPLY OF REEF
22R7
BUILT-IN GEN. F. POWER

SPLY OF REEF
22RT
REEFER CONTAINER
22R1
REEFER CONTAINER
22SN
NAMED CARGO CONTAINER
22S1
22T3
TANK CONTAINER
22T4
TANK CONTAINER
22T5
TANK CONTAINER
22T6
TANK CONTAINER
22T7
TANK CONTAINER
22T8
TANK CONTAINER
22T0
TANK CONTAINER
22T1
TANK CONTAINER
22T2
TANK CONTAINER
22TD
22TG
22TN
TANK CONTAINER
TANK CONTAINER
TANK CONTAINER
22UP
HARDTOP CONTAINER
22U6
HARDTOP CONTAINER
22UT
OPEN TOP CONTAINER
22U1
OPEN TOP CONTAINER
22V0
VENTILATED CONTAINER
22V2
22V3
22VH
25GP
GP-CONTAINER OVERHEIGHT
25G0
26GP
26G0
26HR
INSULATED CONTAINER
26H0
INSULATED CONTAINER
28TG
TANK FOR GAS
28T8
TANK FOR GAS
28UT
OPEN TOP (HALF HEIGHT)
28U1
OPEN TOP (HALF HEIGHT)
28VH
VE-HALF-HEIGHT =1448 MM
HEIGHT
28V0
VE-HALF-HEIGHT =1448 MM
HEIGHT
29PL
PLATFORM
29P0
PLATFORM
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2EGP
GEN. PURP. WITHOUT VENT

WIDTH 2.5M
42GP
42HR
INSULATED CONTAINER
42PC
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
2EG0
HIGH CUBE CONT. (WIDTH

2.5M)
42G0
42G1
42H0
INSULATED CONTAINER
42P3
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
42P8
42P9
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
42PF
FLAT (FIXED ENDS)
42P1
FLAT (FIXED ENDS)
42PS
FLAT (SPACE SAVER)
42P6
FLAT SPACE SAVER
42RC
42R9
42RS
REEFER CONT.(DIESEL GEN.)
42R3
REEFER CONT.(DIESEL GEN.)
42RT
REEFER CONTAINER
42R1
REEFER CONTAINER
42SN
42S1
42TD
TANK CONTAINER
42T5
TANK CONTAINER
42T6
TANK CONTAINER
42TG
TANK CONTAINER
42T8
TANK CONTAINER
42TN
TANK CONTAINER
42T2
TANK CONTAINER
42UP
HARDTOP CONTAINER
42U6
HARDTOP CONTAINER
42UT
OPEN TOP CONTAINER
42U1
OPEN TOP CONTAINER
45BK
BULK CONTAINER
45B3
BULK CONTAINER
45GP
HIGH CUBE CONT.
45G0
HIGH CUBE CONT.
45G1
HIGH CUBE CONT.
45PC
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
45P3
FLAT (COLLAPSIBLE)
45P8
45RC
45R9
45RT
REEFER HIGHCUBE
CONTAINER
45R1
REEFER HIGHCUBE
CONTAINER
45UT
OPEN TOP CONTAINER
45U1
OPEN TOP CONTAINER
45UP
HIGH CUBE HARDTOP CONT.
45U6
HIGH CUBE HARDTOP CONT.
46HR
INSULATED CONTAINER
46H0
INSULATED CONTAINER
48TG
TANK FOR GAS
48T8
TANK FOR GAS
49PL
PLATFORM
49P0
PLATFORM
4CGP
GP CONTAINER
4CG0
GP CONTAINER (WIDTH 2.5 M)
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L0GP
HIGH CUBE CONT.
L0G1
HIGH CUBE CONT.
L2GP
HIGH CUBE CONT.
L2G1
HIGH CUBE CONT.
L5GP
HIGH CUBE CONT.
L5G1
HIGH CUBE CONT.
Use the below to calculate Size/Type of a less commonly used ISO 6346 containers:
ISO Length Codes
Code
Second size code character
Container length
Container
height
Code
10
20
86
30
40
96
24
> 96
246
43
41
<= 4
43
86
45
48
96
49
> 96
Width
2348mm < x <= 2500mm
ISO Type Codes

Code
Description
G0
General - Openings at one or both ends
G1
General - Passive vents at upper part of cargo space
G2
General - Openings at one or both ends + full openings on one or both sides
G3
General - Openings at one or both ends + partial openings on one or both sides
V0
Fantainer - Non-mechanical, vents at lower and upper parts of cargo space
V2
Fantainer - Mechanical ventilation system located internally
V4
Fantainer - Mechanical ventilation system located externally
R0
Integral Reefer - Mechanically refrigerated
R1
Integral Reefer - Mechanically refrigerated and heated
R2
Integral Reefer - Self-powered mechanically refrigerated
R3
Integral Reefer - Self-powered mechanically refrigerated and heated
H0
Refrigerated or heated with removable equipment located externally; heat transfer coefficient
8/11
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K=0.4W/M2.K
H1
Refrigerated or heated with removable equipment located internally
H2
Refrigerated 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
T1
T2
T3
Tank - Dangerous liquids, minimum pressure 1.50 bar
T4
T5
T6
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)
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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 the
country where the code is registered not the nationality of the owner or operator of the container. The letters of the
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 give
visual 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 an article
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 testing
ISO 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
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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.rshead.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/shippingcontainer-size-type)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ISO_6346&oldid=614062918"
Categories: ISO standards Intermodal containers Port infrastructure Checksum algorithms
This page was last modified on 23 June 2014 at 08:17.
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ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BIC code on the end

1.3 Serial Number

ISO-code and dimension/load table at

ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Equipment Category Identifier

ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

c) Erase decimal digits:

a) minus d) = Check Digit:

ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Size and Type Codes

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

ISOLADO CONTAINE REEFER

FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

ISO Size Type

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FLAT (COLL.FLUSH FOLDING)

FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

FLAT (GENSET CARRIER)

FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)

REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)

BUILT-IN GEN. F. POWER

BUILT-IN GEN. F. POWER

NAMED CARGO CONTAINER

NAMED CARGO CONTAINER

OPEN TOP CONTAINER

OPEN TOP CONTAINER

TANK FOR GAS

TANK FOR GAS

OPEN TOP (HALF HEIGHT)

OPEN TOP (HALF HEIGHT)

ISO 6346 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GEN. PURP. WITHOUT VENT

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

HIGH CUBE CONT. (WIDTH

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

GENERAL PURPOSE CONT.

FLAT (COLL.FLUSH FOLDING)

FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

FLAT (FIXED ENDS)

FLAT (SPACE SAVER)

FLAT SPACE SAVER

REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)

REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)

REEFER CONT.(DIESEL GEN.)

REEFER CONT.(DIESEL GEN.)

NAMED CARGO CONTAINER

NAMED CARGO CONTAINER

OPEN TOP CONTAINER

OPEN TOP CONTAINER

HIGH CUBE CONT.

HIGH CUBE CONT.

HIGH CUBE CONT.

FLAT (COLL.FLUSH FOLDING)

REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)

REEFER CONT.(NO FOOD)