VCN search · Indian ports
Which ship is this, and when is it calling?
Search by vessel name, IMO number or VCN. Answers come from the calls customs has published for ships filers here have looked up, each with the date customs last listed it. No account needed.
Holding a bill of lading instead? BL tracking. Need the line’s CSN cut-off for the call? CSN cut-offs.
VCN, rotation number and IMO — which is which
- What is a VCN in shipping?
- The Vessel Call Number: the port’s number for one call of one ship at one port. It reads as a four-character port code, the year and a serial, and the port issues it when the line applies for that arrival. Your CSN carries it as its conveyance reference.
- Is the VCN the same as the rotation number or the IGM number?
- No. The rotation number is the same value as the IGM number, registered for the call after the VCN, still before arrival. One call has both, and only the VCN belongs in a CSN’s VCN field — never type a rotation number there.
- Can I turn an IMO number into a VCN?
- Not directly: the IMO number names the hull for life, the VCN names one of its arrivals. Search the ship’s name or IMO number here and its calls at Indian ports come back, each with its own VCN.
- Why does the next call have no VCN yet?
- The port issues a VCN days before arrival, not months. A CSN can be prepared before then — the platform saves the draft and leaves the VCN as the one thing outstanding.
- The ship was substituted. Does the VCN change?
- Yes. A different ship, port or arrival is a different call and a different VCN. Signed in, the call your filing names is checked against customs’ list again before you sign.
- Can I send a ship’s VCN to someone?
- Yes. Share on a ship’s result sends its VCNs and arrival dates as text you can copy, with a link. On WhatsApp the link shows a card naming the ship and its VCNs when exactly one ship matches and customs’ answer is recent. The card is dated, because the chat keeps the picture; opening the link runs the search again.
- Where does this search get its answers?
- From the calls customs has published through ICEGATE’s enquiry. A search asks customs, signed in or not. After many searches in a few minutes from one network or account, it answers for a while from the calls already fetched here, each with the date customs last listed it.
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