A shipment is one container you want to watch. You add it by giving Real-View enough to find the vessel and a South African port to track it into. You do not need every field — one identifier and the destination port is enough to start.

Add a shipment

1. From the dashboard or the Shipments screen, click Add shipment.
2. Enter at least one identifier — a container number, a bill-of-lading (BL) number, a vessel name, or an IMO number.
3. Choose the destination port (Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha, or Richards Bay).
4. Add any optional details that help (see below), then Save.

The fields

Identifier one required

Any one of: container number (e.g. MSCU1234567), BL number, vessel name, or IMO number. The more precise the identifier, the faster Real-View locks onto the right vessel.

Destination port required

The SA port the container is sailing to. This drives the congestion and dwell figures Real-View applies to your arrival estimate.

Label optional

A name only you see, so you can spot the shipment at a glance — e.g. "PO-2024-118 — auto parts".

Carrier optional

The shipping line, e.g. Maersk or MSC.

Origin port optional

Where the container is coming from (UN/LOCODE, e.g. CNSHA for Shanghai).

Carrier ETA optional

The arrival date the shipping line gave you. Real-View shows this next to its own estimate so you can see any gap.

Notes optional

Free text for your own reference.

What happens after you save

The shipment starts in Pending while Real-View queues a vessel lookup. Within a few minutes it pulls in vessel data and the status moves on to In transit (or whatever stage the box is actually at). From here it tracks automatically — see Tracking & ETAs.