Ocean carriers exchange bookings, status updates, stow plans and Customs filings electronically using two main families of standards: ANSI X12, developed in the United States, and UN/EDIFACT, developed under the United Nations. Most carriers serving U.S. ports end up dealing with both. This guide explains how they differ, which messages matter in ocean shipping and how to plan a new EDI connection.
Electronic Data Interchange replaces documents and emails with structured messages that one company’s system sends and another’s reads without retyping. For an ocean carrier the usual partners are shippers and NVOCCs sending bookings and shipping instructions, terminals reporting gate and vessel moves, other carriers sharing space, and government agencies receiving manifests.
Each message type is defined by a standard so both sides agree on what goes in which field. The two standards you will meet most are ANSI X12 and UN/EDIFACT. They solve the same problem with different syntax, different governing bodies and different message names.
X12 describes itself as chartered by the American National Standards Institute for more than 40 years, developing and maintaining EDI standards and XML schemas, with each transaction set maintained by a subcommittee within its Accredited Standards Committee (X12: about). Transaction sets are identified by three-digit numbers. Those most relevant to ocean carriers, as listed by X12 (X12 transaction sets), include:
| Set | X12 name | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 300 | Reservation (Booking Request) (Ocean) | Shipper or NVOCC requests space |
| 301 | Confirmation (Ocean) | Carrier confirms the booking |
| 304 | Shipping Instructions | Details for the bill of lading |
| 310 | Freight Receipt and Invoice (Ocean) | Bill of lading and freight data |
| 315 | Status Details (Ocean) | Container milestones |
| 322 | Terminal Operations and Intermodal Ramp Activity | Terminal and gate moves |
| 323 | Vessel Schedule and Itinerary (Ocean) | Sailing schedules |
| 324 | Vessel Stow Plan (Ocean) | Stowage positions |
| 309 | Customs Manifest | Manifest data to Customs |
| 350 | Customs Status Information | Status returned by Customs |
| 997 | Functional Acknowledgment | Confirms a message was received and parsed |
UN/EDIFACT, the United Nations rules for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport, is described by UN ESCAP as a set of internationally agreed standards, directories and guidelines for the electronic interchange of structured data between independent computerized systems, maintained and published in the United Nations Trade Data Interchange Directory (UN ESCAP: UN/EDIFACT). Its syntax is published as ISO 9735 (ISO 9735-1). EDIFACT messages carry six-letter names rather than numbers.
In the container trade, the SMDG, a user group for EDI in the maritime container business, publishes implementation guides for the messages that carriers and terminals exchange (SMDG). The group takes its name from the design of the BAPLIE message, used for vessel bay plans. Its container message guides cover COPRAR and COARRI for vessel discharge and loading orders and confirmations, COPARN for full-in booking orders and empty-out releases, and CODECO for gate-in and gate-out confirmation (SMDG container messages).
| ANSI X12 | UN/EDIFACT | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintained by | X12, chartered by ANSI | United Nations, published in the UNTDID |
| Message names | Three-digit numbers (300, 315, 322) | Six-letter names (BAPLIE, CODECO) |
| Syntax standard | X12 standards | ISO 9735 |
| Where you meet it | U.S. trading partners and U.S. Customs ACE | International carriers and terminals; SMDG guides |
| Stow plans | 324 Vessel Stow Plan | BAPLIE |
| Gate moves | 322 Terminal Operations | CODECO |
Neither standard is better in the abstract. A carrier in the Florida and Caribbean trades often receives X12 from U.S. customers and EDIFACT from terminals or partner lines abroad, and needs its system to map both to the same shipment record.
CBP’s technical documentation library publishes the message specifications for ACE, including ocean manifest documents in ANSI X12, such as the 353 Events Advisory Details and 357 In-Bond Information transaction sets, and CBP’s own Cargo Automated Manifest Interface Requirements (CAMIR) record formats (CBP technical documentation). The container status message rule in 19 CFR 4.7d requires each report to include an event code as defined in the ANSI X12 or UN EDIFACT standards, along with the container number, date and time, empty or full status, location and vessel.
For the filing side, see ocean eManifest and EDI with CBP.
Most EDI projects that go wrong do not fail on the standard. They fail on details that both sides assumed were obvious. The usual suspects:
Your shipping system matters here because EDI is only as good as the data behind it. GDZ-ISIS exchanges data with customers, partners and government entities in formats including ANSI X12, XML, CSV, ASYCUDA, Excel and positional text, with custom formats on request, and its U.S. Customs menu includes Baplie submission. To discuss a specific partner format, contact our team.
Both are EDI standards. ANSI X12 is maintained by X12, chartered by ANSI, and names messages with numbers such as 315. UN/EDIFACT is the United Nations standard published in the UNTDID, with six-letter message names such as CODECO.
CBP publishes ACE ocean manifest specifications in ANSI X12 transaction sets and in its CAMIR record format. Check CBP’s technical documentation library for the current versions before you build.
BAPLIE is the EDIFACT message used for vessel bay plans, showing where containers are stowed. The SMDG user group, which publishes its implementation guides, takes its name from the original BAPLIE design work.
X12 lists transaction set 315 as Status Details (Ocean). Carriers commonly use it to send container milestone updates to customers.
If partners, terminals or Customs require electronic messages, yes. Even without a mandate, EDI with large customers removes retyping of bookings and status updates.