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How to track the ship carrying your car

· 6 min read

In short

A car shipped overseas usually travels on a car carrier or another ro-ro ship, and your booking confirmation or bill of lading names that ship and a voyage number. Search the ship's name, or better its seven-digit IMO number, on Voydar to see where it is now, when that position was received, its speed, its destination and the ports it has called at. Follow the ship and Voydar tells you when it arrives in port. The ship arriving is not the same as the car being ready: unloading and customs come next, and your shipping company or agent confirms when you can collect it.

Enter 7 digits for an IMO number or 9 digits for an MMSI.

Find the name of the ship

Your shipping company, freight forwarder or car-shipping agent books the car onto a particular sailing. The booking confirmation, the schedule they send you or the bill of lading usually gives:

  • The vessel name, often next to the words Vessel or Ocean vessel, with a voyage number. The voyage number is the shipping line's own reference for the sailing; it is not broadcast by the ship.
  • The port of loading and the port of discharge: where the ship takes your car on and where it comes off.
  • Sometimes the IMO number, seven digits, which belongs to one hull for life and finds exactly one ship. If your papers don't show it, the ship's Voydar page does. See what an IMO number is.

If you only have a booking reference, ask the shipping company which vessel the car is booked on. Cars can be moved to a later sailing or a different ship, so check again shortly before departure.

What the destination and ETA mean

The destination and ETA on a vessel page are typed in by the crew and broadcast over AIS. They are the ship's own statement about its next stop, which on a car carrier is often another port on the voyage rather than yours, and they can be abbreviated or out of date. Car carriers commonly call at several ports on one voyage, loading and unloading cars at each.

For your own port, the shipping company's schedule is the better guide. You can check whether it still looks realistic with the free ship ETA estimate, which works out when a ship could reach a port from its latest position and recent speed.

The port calls on the vessel page show where the ship has actually been, with arrival and departure times detected from its AIS positions. When your port of discharge appears there with an arrival time, the ship is in.

When the ship has gone quiet

At sea a ship can go hours, sometimes days, without a new position. AIS is received by shore stations, other ships and satellites, and coverage far from the coast is thin. A gap usually means the ship is out of range, not that anything is wrong. What AIS is explains how it is received.

For a ship that was clearly under way and has not been heard for six hours or more, the vessel page can add an estimate of where it would be if it had kept its course and speed. The estimate is labelled as one, shows an uncertainty radius that grows with the distance run, and stops after 36 hours.

A ship that sits still for days is usually at anchor waiting for a berth, or alongside loading and unloading. The navigational status on its page says which the crew has set.

Get an alert when the ship arrives

Follow the ship from its page and sign in with your email address. Voydar then tells you each time the ship arrives in a port and leaves it, so you see it work its way along the voyage to yours. A free account follows up to 5 ships and ports. On the free plan the alerts arrive by email as one daily summary, and the Voydar app for iPhone and Android can notify you on your phone when the ship arrives or leaves.

Ports that handle cars

Cars shipped by sea go through ports with dedicated vehicle terminals and large parking areas for unloaded cars. Some of the ports with large car terminals:

Each port page lists the ships in port now and the recent arrivals, so you can see car carriers come and go. Every other port has a page too: search its name or browse the ports directory.

After the ship arrives

The ship reaching port starts the last stage rather than ending it. The cars are driven off, parked at the terminal and cleared by customs before they are released, and your shipping company or agent tells you when and where to collect yours.

The paperwork depends on the country. In the United States, CBP advises importers to have the shipper or carrier tell them the car's arrival date, and clearance needs the carrier's original bill of lading with the other documents. In the United Kingdom, HMRC must be told within 14 days that the vehicle has arrived. The official pages are listed under Sources.

Questions and answers

Can I see my car on the ship?
No. AIS tracks the ship, not the cargo it carries. If your car was loaded on that sailing, it moves with the ship; the shipping company confirms loading.
Is tracking the ship free?
Yes. Looking up the ship, its position and its port calls on Voydar is free and needs no account. A free account adds following up to 5 ships and ports with alerts.
Why does the ETA on Voydar differ from my shipping company's date?
The ETA on a vessel page is the one the crew broadcasts for the ship's next stop, which may be another port on the voyage. The shipping company's date is for your port and may allow for unloading. Rely on the company for the collection date.
The ship hasn't moved for days. Is something wrong?
Usually not. Either it has been out of receiver range, or it is at anchor or in port waiting, loading or unloading. Check the age of the last position and the navigational status on the vessel page.
What if my car is moved to another ship?
Bookings can change, for example to a later sailing or when cars are transferred to another ship at a hub port. Ask the shipping company for the new vessel's name and follow that ship instead.

Try it

Put this guide to work with a free Voydar tool, no account needed.

Look up a ship

Search any vessel by name, IMO number or MMSI for its free Voydar profile: live position, identity history, ownership, inspections and sanctions.

Sources

Primary sources for the facts in this guide. Figures labelled as Voydar data come from Voydar’s own records, with their method stated next to them.

  1. U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Importing a motor vehicle
  2. GOV.UK: Importing vehicles into the UK
  3. IMO: AIS transponders (SOLAS regulation V/19)
  4. IMO: IMO Identification Number Schemes

Published Oct 29, 2026 · For information only. Not for navigation, and not a substitute for the official sources cited.