If you work in international shipping or freight forwarding, you'll encounter UN/LOCODEs regularly — in shipping documents, customs declarations, and vessel tracking systems. But what exactly are they, and how do you find the right one for a given port?
What is a UN/LOCODE?
A UN/LOCODE (United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations) is a standardised five-character code that uniquely identifies ports, airports, and other transport locations worldwide. The system is maintained by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UNECE).
The code has a simple structure: the first two characters are the ISO country code, followed by three characters identifying the specific location.
For example:
- GBFXT — Felixstowe, United Kingdom
- GBSOU — Southampton, United Kingdom
- NLRTM — Rotterdam, Netherlands
- DEHAM — Hamburg, Germany
- SGSIN — Singapore
Why are LOCODEs important?
LOCODEs eliminate ambiguity in international shipping documentation. Port names can be spelled differently, abbreviated, or confused with other locations — but a LOCODE is always unique. When you write GBFXT, there is no doubt which port you mean.
They're used in bills of lading, customs declarations, freight invoices, and vessel tracking systems. In AIS data, vessels often broadcast their destination as a LOCODE rather than a port name — which is why vessel tracking tools like Portool use LOCODEs to match vessels to their target ports accurately.
How to find a UN/LOCODE
There are two reliable ways to find a LOCODE for a specific port:
UNECE LOCODE search — the official source. Go to unece.org/cefact/locode and search by country and location name. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative database.
MarineTraffic port search — search for the port on MarineTraffic and the LOCODE is usually listed in the port details. Useful if you're already using MarineTraffic for vessel tracking.
Common UK port LOCODEs
- GBFXT — Felixstowe
- GBSOU — Southampton
- GBLGP — Gravesend / London Gateway
- GBIMM — Immingham
- GBTIL — Tilbury
- GBHUL — Hull
- GBDVR — Dover
- GBHRW — Harwich
- GBBRS — Bristol
- GBAVP — Avonmouth
LOCODEs and vessel tracking
When setting up vessel arrival alerts in Portool, you enter the UN/LOCODE for your target port. This ensures the system accurately detects arrivals at exactly the right location — not just any port with a similar name.
Portool validates your LOCODE against a global port database when you add a vessel, so if you enter an incorrect code you'll be notified immediately rather than waiting for an alert that never comes.
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