What “Pending Vessel” Really Means on COSCO Tracking

Quick answer: “Pending” is a placeholder for plan items that are not tied to a confirmed ship, berth, or call in the customer view. COSCO schedules and advisories sometimes show “pending” during berth or leg planning. The state clears when Loaded and the first departure actual post for the next leg. Do not treat “pending”…

TRADLINX

November 19, 2025

2–3 minutes

Container tracking, COSCO, COSCO Tracking, cutoff, DCSA, sailing schedules, shipment status, Transshipment

Quick answer: “Pending” is a placeholder for plan items that are not tied to a confirmed ship, berth, or call in the customer view. COSCO schedules and advisories sometimes show “pending” during berth or leg planning. The state clears when Loaded and the first departure actual post for the next leg. Do not treat “pending” as a fault. Treat it as a planning state that flips on real events.

Where “pending” appears and how to read it

Schedules and service PDFs: COSCO materials may display “pending” where a call or berth window is not confirmed. See examples in the sources.
Customer advisories: You can see phrases like “pending berth window” during congestion or operational changes. This signals an unfinalized berth plan, not a data error.
Proper noun caveat: “PENDING” is also a place name in Kuching, Malaysia. Do not confuse a location label with a status label.

Map “pending” to standardized milestones

Planned stage: booking exists, onward vessel or berth not final. Treat ETAs as provisional.
Actual stage begins: the state clears when equipment events post. The decisive changes are Loaded and Transport Departure on the outbound leg.

This behavior follows the DCSA Track and Trace model. Customer pages become specific after actual events are recorded and transmitted.

Tip: While COSCO is not a formal member of DCSA’s standardization initiative, it uses operationally compatible event tracking that enables cross-carrier monitoring.

Realistic triggers that keep a vessel pending

Feeder assignment not finalized at the hub.
Berth window not confirmed during congestion, shown as “pending berth window” in advisories.
Cutoff or documentation timing holds the unit after Gate In.
System handoffs delay when a named vessel appears in customer view even while planning proceeds in operational systems.

Tip: For transshipment routes, treat ETA as provisional until you see Loaded on the outbound vessel. Re plan delivery only after that point.

What to do about it

Check the current leg and intended connection in Sailing Schedules.
Turn on shipment plan email alerts for milestone changes. Follow the setup in COSCO’s Shipment Plan guide.
Use the Cargo Tracking view with BL and container to see when Loaded or Discharged arrives.
Confirm cutoffs with the Cutoff query. Times are for reference until confirmed on the booking.

What could still be confusing: “Pending” is not a timer. It is planning state language. Only equipment and transport actuals convert a plan into a firm leg.

Methods and sources

COSCO Cargo Tracking and Sailing Schedules
Shipment Plan user guide describing email subscriptions, milestone selection, and alert rules
DCSA Track and Trace documentation and shipping glossary
“Pending” in COSCO materials:
- Customer advisory with “pending berth window”
- Service PDF showing “Pending” placeholders

Next steps

See vessel assignments across carriers in one place. Try our tracking page. Need alerts when a pending state flips to loaded or departed? Talk to us.

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