If your business relies on sea freight, whether for manufacturing goods overseas, importing raw materials or stocking a wholesale warehouse, you cannot see clearly every container in transit as part of your supply chain. You only have a rough idea of when it should arrive. But you don't always know what's actually happening to it.

Ocean visibility is an add-on for Cargoson TMS that closes this gap. Enter a container number and Cargoson shows you where the container is, what's already happened, and when it's expected to arrive. It works across shipping lines, so you get one view across your whole sea freight operation.


What you can see in Ocean Visibility

For every container, Cargoson brings together the following information:

  • Current location - where the container is right now (port or vessel)
  • Completed milestones - gate-in at origin, loaded onto vessel, departed, transhipments, arrived at destination port, gate-out
  • Upcoming milestones - what's next on the timeline and when it's expected
  • Estimated time of arrival - updated as the voyage progresses, not just the one given at booking
  • Vessel information - the ship carrying your container and its movements

You don't need to know the shipping line in advance. Simply type in the container number to start tracking.


How it works

Cargoson doesn't depend on a single source. We use data from several sea visibility providers and combine their data points behind one container number.

This is important because no single provider covers every carrier equally well. Some have stronger coverage of Asian trade routes, some of transatlantic routes and some of niche lines. By pulling data from multiple sources, Cargoson provides tracking information for all the carriers you use: Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen, ONE, and the rest. You see one consistent timeline, no matter who moves the container.


Add your own milestones

Carriers report carrier events. Your supply chain involves more than that.

You can add manual milestones to any container tracking, such as customs clearance being handed to the broker, documents being received, payment being released, the container being collected for inland transport and arriving at your warehouse. All the steps that matter in your operation are displayed on the same timeline as the automatic carrier data.

This creates a single location where your team and other stakeholders can view the entire process: the actions of the carrier, your internal processes, and any issues that require attention.


Why this matters for manufacturers and wholesalers

It's easier to plan the supply chain when you actually know what's happening at sea. A few examples:

  • Production planning: Knowing the actual ETA of incoming raw materials, rather than the one from three weeks ago, enables you to schedule production lines with fewer last-minute changes.
  • Warehouse planning: When arrival waves are clearly visible, you can plan labour, dock slots, and storage space ahead of time instead of reacting on the day.
  • Customer commitments: If you sell to retailers or industrial buyers, you often have to quote delivery dates that depend on goods still at sea. Earlier warning of delays means earlier conversations with your customers, and fewer awkward ones later.
  • Demurrage and detention: Containers that remain at the port or off-hire for too long cost money. Clear visibility of arrival times helps you arrange clearance and collection in time.
  • Working capital: Goods in transit tie up cash. The sooner you can plan around their arrival, the sooner they will become sellable inventory.
  • Forwarder accountability: If you work with a freight forwarder, having an independent view of your containers helps you verify what they tell you and ask the right questions when something goes wrong.


Alongside your forwarder or broker

If you work with a forwarder or broker who provides their own tracking, you can still see it in Cargoson. Container-based tracking provides an additional layer. It provides a view tied to the container itself, rather than relying on one party remembering to forward an update.

For companies that work with several forwarders across different trade lanes, this is often the bigger win. Instead of logging into three or four different portals or chasing email updates, your team can see every container in one place: their own TMS.


One view across the operation

Ocean visibility doesn't exist in isolation. It exists within the Cargoson TMS system alongside your shipments, documents and other transport modes. The same people who book containers, handle paperwork and coordinate with carriers can also access live tracking without switching tools.

For manufacturers and wholesalers, this is the practical advantage. Sea freight stops being a blind spot in the operation and becomes something your team can plan around.


Getting started

Ocean visibility is an add-on to Cargoson TMS. If you already are a customer, contact your Cargoson representative or write to [email protected] and we will activate this feature for your account.

If you are not yet on Cargoson and you would like to see how container-level visibility could benefit your business, book a demo and we will walk you through it.