ContainerPulse Liner intelligence
Match the 4-letter prefix on any container to its operator in our liner registry of 200+ carriers.

Hamburg Sud (Legacy)

SCAC SUDU · Hamburg, Germany · founded 1871 · Gemini Cooperation

Hamburg Sud (Legacy) (legal entity Hamburg Sudamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft) is a global mainline operator headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Founded in 1871, the line has spent 155 years building out its container service network and today operates a fleet of 130 vessels under the SCAC code SUDU. Total operated capacity stands near 625,000 TEU, placing the carrier among the recognised operators on its core trade lanes. The company holds intermodal equipment under 3 registered ISO 6346 owner prefixes, which appear on every box it owns or long-term leases.

Hamburg Sud (Legacy) is most active on the following corridors: Latin America, Reefer, Now part of Maersk. Through its membership of the Gemini Cooperation, the carrier shares vessel capacity with Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd on East-West services. Direct customer contact is available via +49 40 3705 0 or the carrier's web portal at hamburgsud-line.com.

Hamburg Sud (Legacy) container prefixes

Every intermodal container carries an ISO 6346 owner code — three letters identifying the owner, plus a single category letter (almost always U for freight containers). These four-letter prefixes are the fastest way to identify which carrier controls a given box. Hamburg Sud (Legacy) has the following registered prefixes recorded in the BIC database. If a container in your possession begins with any of these codes, the box is owned by or leased on long term to Hamburg Sud (Legacy).

To track a container under one of these prefixes, contact the carrier directly using the bill-of-lading number or container number. Most ocean carriers expose a public tracking endpoint on their website that accepts either format. Hamburg Sud (Legacy) publishes its tracking page under the main hamburgsud-line.com domain.

Hamburg Sud (Legacy) corridor coverage

Hamburg Sud (Legacy) concentrates its services on Latin America, Reefer, Now part of Maersk. Customers on these lanes typically see weekly or twice-weekly sailings depending on season and trade balance. For a current sailing schedule, contact the carrier directly or consult its weekly schedule publication.

How to track a Hamburg Sud (Legacy) container

Tracking a Hamburg Sud (Legacy) container starts with confirming the prefix. Look at the container's left-hand corner casting plate or the painted code on the door — the four-letter ISO 6346 owner code (e.g. SUDU) is followed by six numeric digits and a single check digit. If the prefix matches one in the list above, the box is on a Hamburg Sud (Legacy) bill of lading. Visit hamburgsud-line.com, navigate to the carrier's tracking or "track and trace" portal, and paste the full container number. The portal will return current vessel position, the next scheduled port call, the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and the most recent equipment events such as gate-in, loaded, discharged and gate-out.

If the carrier portal does not return a result, the most likely causes are: the container has not yet been gate-in at the origin terminal, the bill of lading number is in a different format (check whether the system expects an MBL versus an HBL), or the box is moving on a partner alliance vessel rather than a Hamburg Sud (Legacy) hull. In the last case, the prefix still resolves to Hamburg Sud (Legacy) as equipment owner but the schedule data lives with the operating carrier. Hamburg Sud (Legacy)'s customer service can normally cross-reference the booking and route you to the correct alliance partner. Reach the carrier on +49 40 3705 0 during European business hours.

Related ocean carriers

Operators most often compared with Hamburg Sud (Legacy) on overlapping trade lanes: