The manual booking process on COSCO
COSCO booking runs through SynCon Hub as the primary web platform across 44+ countries, with COP portal and EDI via INTTRA as alternatives. The Ocean Alliance Day 10 Product introduces operating-carrier variability: a COSCO booking may execute on a COSCO, CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen vessel depending on the service string.
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Search schedules on SynCon Hub
Enter origin/destination port pair, cargo type, and preferred dates. Review available Ocean Alliance services. SynCon Hub operates in 44+ countries and supports Channel L for China export logistics. Alternative: COP portal (cop.lines.coscoshipping.com) for teams with API integrations against its open API.
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Retrieve spot or contract rates
SynCon Hub returns rates inline with the booking flow — rate look-up and booking are combined in the same platform rather than split into a separately branded spot product. For contracted lanes, book with contract reference through SynCon Hub, COP, or EDI via INTTRA.
Pain pointCOSCO does not publish a branded instant-quote product with explicit loading-guarantee terms. SynCon Hub markets instant space and container guarantees as part of the base booking flow, but published terms (rollable compensation, equipment guarantee, price validity) are not laid out on a single product page the way Maersk Spot, CMA CGM SpotOn, or ONE QUOTE product pages are. Treat SynCon Hub as a combined booking-and-rates platform, not a branded spot product.
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Configure booking details
Enter container type, count, cargo details, DG flag (if applicable), and preferred departure date. DG bookings require a separate DG declaration and are subject to the USD 20,000 misdeclaration penalty covered on the COSCO documentation page.
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Evaluate Ocean Alliance vessel allocation
A COSCO booking may execute on a COSCO, CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen vessel under the Day 10 Product (approximately 390 vessels, 41 weekly service loops, 520+ direct port pairs). Operating carrier is determined by service string rotation; forwarders cannot select which alliance member operates a specific voyage. Booking confirmation specifies the operating carrier.
Pain pointA COSCO booking may physically sail on a CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen ship. Operating carrier affects tracking data source, equipment pool, and terminal handling. This is the same cross-carrier pattern seen in Gemini (Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd) and Premier Alliance (ONE/HMM/Yang Ming).
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Factor Transatlantic capacity and Red Sea routing
Transatlantic: three services include ONE tonnage under a separate cooperation agreement, reduced in early 2026 to two loops with 14 vessels (a 37% capacity cut on the North Atlantic). Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean: most services route via the Cape of Good Hope as of early 2026, adding 10–14 days versus Suez.
Pain pointCMA CGM's January 2026 Suez pullback (FAL 1, FAL 3, MEX) was CMA CGM-specific; COSCO's service-level Suez-return decisions are not confirmed in public sources. Default to Cape transit times on affected trades unless a specific COSCO service has been confirmed back on Suez.
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Submit booking and await confirmation
Confirmation includes operating carrier, vessel/voyage, cut-off dates, and booking reference. SynCon Hub markets instant space and container guarantees as part of the base flow; contract bookings follow the forwarder's contract-specific confirmation timeline. COSCO does not operate a branded instant-quote product equivalent to ONE QUOTE, CMA CGM SpotOn, or Maersk Spot.
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Handle amendments and cancellations
Amendments route through SynCon Hub, COP, EDI via INTTRA, or the original booking channel. No consolidated cancellation/no-show fee schedule is published in COSCO's tariffs. Route through digital channels where possible; escalate to the local COSCO office when portal amendments are rejected or the amendment window has closed.
Pain pointWithout a published cancellation/no-show schedule, fees can surface only after the fact via invoice. Confirm cancellation terms with the local COSCO office before committing to changes on volume-sensitive accounts.
Ocean Alliance Day 10 Product and operating-carrier context
Ocean Alliance members are COSCO, CMA CGM, OOCL, and Evergreen. The alliance was extended to 2032 in an agreement signed on 27 February 2024. OOCL is a wholly-owned COSCO subsidiary (acquired in July 2018 for approximately USD 6.3 billion) but operates with its own IT systems, SCAC (OOLU), and customer portal (MyOOCL); for Ocean Alliance purposes it remains a distinct member.
The Day 10 Product, launched in April 2026, deploys approximately 390 vessels across 41 weekly service loops covering 520+ direct port pairs. Service coverage spans Trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Transatlantic, and Intra-Asia. COSCO's deepest service frequency is on China-origin ports — Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, and Qingdao — where it is often the reference carrier for freight forwarders routing China-origin cargo.
Transatlantic services include ONE tonnage under a separate cooperation agreement. That cooperation was reduced in early 2026 to two loops with 14 vessels, a 37% capacity cut on the North Atlantic. Forwarders running Transatlantic with COSCO should expect fewer sailings per week than in 2025 and re-check the current schedule before committing to weekly cadence assumptions.
Sea-Intelligence GLP #177 (April 2026, ALL arrivals) reports Ocean Alliance schedule reliability at 67.6%. For context across the four major groupings in the same window: Gemini Cooperation 85.0%, MSC standalone 73.4%, Ocean Alliance 67.6%, Premier Alliance 54.2%. Sea-Intelligence does not publish COSCO separately from the Ocean Alliance aggregate, so no COSCO-specific carrier-level reliability figure is available.
Operating carrier identification matters at booking time. A COSCO booking may execute on a COSCO, CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen vessel depending on the service string rotation. The booking confirmation specifies the operating carrier. The implications flow downstream: tracking feed source depends on the operating carrier (COSCO's DCSA T&T v2.2 conformance is unconfirmed in public sources, while CMA CGM's is confirmed live), equipment may come from any alliance member's pool, and terminal handling follows the operating carrier's arrangements.
Red Sea routing is still the default on most COSCO Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean services as of early 2026, adding 10–14 days of transit time versus the Suez Canal. CMA CGM's January 2026 Suez pullback was a CMA CGM-specific decision; COSCO's service-level Suez-return decisions are not confirmed in public sources.
Section 301 port-call fees: what it means for US-bound bookings
COSCO is the only Tier 1 carrier on this site directly in scope of the USTR Section 301 port-call fees on Chinese-operated and Chinese-built vessels. Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, and MSC are not in scope. The status in April 2026 is a one-year suspension, not active collection.
USTR suspended all Chinese-vessel port-call fees from 10 November 2025 through 9 November 2026. During the suspension window, no port-call surcharges apply to COSCO US-bound bookings. No accrual, no payment. Forwarders quoting and booking US trades during the suspension should not price in the fee.
The initial rate framework that was in place before the suspension: USD 50 per net ton for Chinese-operated vessels (Annex I); the higher of USD 18 per net ton or USD 120 per container for Chinese-built vessels (Annex II). Charged up to 5 times per year per vessel. In the first week before the suspension, COSCO and OOCL together recorded approximately USD 43 million in port fees.
The escalation schedule that was in place before the suspension set Annex I to climb on each anniversary of 17 April 2025: USD 50 → USD 80 → USD 110 → USD 140 per net ton through April 2028. Annex II was set to climb on the same cadence: USD 18/NT or USD 120/container → USD 23/USD 153 → USD 28/USD 186 → USD 33/USD 250. The suspension halted all accrual. If fees resume after 9 November 2026 at the original schedule, Year 2 rates apply.
HSBC and Seatrade Maritime estimated annual impact at USD 1.5–2.1 billion for COSCO in 2026, approximately 74% of COSCO's consensus 2026 EBIT. COSCO publicly pledged not to pass fees to customers and characterised the policy as discriminatory. Whether that pledge holds at full rate through the escalation schedule is not a commitment forwarders should assume in long-range contracts.
If fees resume post-suspension, COSCO may restructure US service patterns: routing non-Chinese-built vessels to US ports, shifting Chinese-built capacity to non-US trades, leveraging Ocean Alliance partners (CMA CGM and Evergreen) to deploy non-Chinese vessels on US loops, or transhipping US cargo via Canada or Mexico. No evidence of systematic COSCO reflagging was observed during research as of April 2026. China's retaliatory maritime laws (September 2025) allow port fees and data-access restrictions on US-linked vessels; forwarders moving US-origin cargo into China destinations should track this channel alongside USTR.
Watchpoint: the 9 November 2026 suspension expiry is the single largest variable for US-bound COSCO bookings in 2026. If the suspension extends, lapses, or is replaced with a different instrument, the hero Facts bar caveat, the operational implications above, and the overview's Section 301 block need a same-day edit.
Where COSCO booking errors happen
Common COSCO booking rework and exposure triggers, drawn from Ocean Alliance operating-carrier variability, COSCO-specific US regulatory context, and the absence of a branded spot product.
Operating carrier surprise
CommonCOSCO booking confirmed on a CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen vessel. Forwarder expects a COSCO-operated service. Tracking feed source, equipment pool, and terminal handling differ by operating carrier. Remediation: identify the operating carrier from the booking confirmation and adjust tracking integration and operational expectations before the sailing week.
Treating SynCon Hub as a branded spot product
OccasionalForwarder books expecting Maersk-Spot-style rollable compensation or CMA-CGM-SpotOn-style loading guarantee. SynCon Hub's published guarantee terms are not laid out on a single product page and these product-level commitments are not confirmed in public sources for COSCO. Remediation: confirm space commitment terms with the local COSCO office for time-critical cargo rather than relying on SynCon Hub defaults.
Ocean Alliance reliability underestimate
CommonETA committed to consignees using Gemini (~85.0%) or MSC standalone (~73.4%) benchmarks. Actual Ocean Alliance reliability is 67.6% (Sea-Intelligence GLP #177, April 2026, ALL arrivals). Wider delay variance than expected. Remediation: calibrate ETAs to the Ocean Alliance baseline and build larger schedule buffers on COSCO bookings.
Cape routing transit time underestimate
CommonETA based on Suez-era benchmarks for Asia-Europe or Asia-Mediterranean trades. Most COSCO services route via the Cape of Good Hope as of early 2026, adding 10–14 days. Remediation: default to Cape transit times for affected trades unless the specific service has been confirmed back on Suez.
Transatlantic capacity assumption
OccasionalForwarder books Transatlantic COSCO assuming 2025 sailing frequency. The ONE cooperation Transatlantic services were reduced in early 2026 to two loops with 14 vessels (a 37% capacity cut on the North Atlantic). Remediation: check the current Transatlantic schedule before committing to weekly cadence assumptions.
No consolidated cancellation fee
OccasionalForwarder cannot find a published cancellation or no-show fee for COSCO. No consolidated schedule is published in public sources. Fees surface only after the fact via invoice. Remediation: confirm cancellation terms with the local COSCO office before committing to changes.
Section 301 post-suspension exposure
CommonForwarder books US-bound COSCO cargo for sailings after 9 November 2026 without a contingency for the suspension expiry. COSCO has pledged not to pass fees to customers, but service patterns, vessel deployment, and spot rates may shift if the suspension lapses. Remediation: monitor the 9 November 2026 suspension expiry and treat it as a booking-decision watchpoint for any sailing dated after that.
How Expedion agents handle COSCO bookings
Expedion agents automate the end-to-end COSCO booking workflow from schedule search through amendment, adjusting for Ocean Alliance vessel sharing and the Section 301 watchpoint.
Default to SynCon Hub for standard bookings. Fall back to EDI via INTTRA for high-volume automated flows. Use the COP portal where the forwarder has built against its open API. Escalate to the local COSCO office only when the portal is unavailable or the amendment window has closed.
Read the booking confirmation to identify whether the vessel is COSCO, CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen. Adjust tracking integration to poll the operating carrier's feed where COSCO's DCSA T&T conformance is unconfirmed. Surface the operating carrier to the reviewer for customs and terminal handling preparation.
Compare SynCon Hub's spot-inline rates against contract rates where the forwarder has both. Surface the trade-off to the reviewer rather than defaulting silently to one or the other.
Set ETA commitments against the Ocean Alliance 67.6% March/April 2026 baseline (Sea-Intelligence GLP #177, ALL arrivals), not the industry average or Gemini. Build larger delay buffers on consignee commitments and flag bookings with tight delivery windows.
Track which COSCO services route via Cape of Good Hope versus Suez for Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean trades. Adjust transit time calculations per service. Flag services where COSCO's Suez-return decision is unconfirmed.
For US-bound bookings, surface the Section 301 suspension status and the 9 November 2026 expiry date at booking time. No fees apply during the suspension; forwarders booking sailings after that date should treat the suspension expiry as a contingency.
Route amendments through SynCon Hub, COP, or EDI via INTTRA. Surface any fee-bearing changes to the reviewer before submission. Escalate cancellations to the local COSCO office for fee confirmation (no consolidated schedule published).
When a booking confirmation includes CCLU, CSLU, CBHU, COCU, or CICU container allocations, do not downstream-route these under non-COSU SCACs. All equipment routes under COSU for BL, customs, and invoice purposes regardless of the physical container's BIC prefix.
COSCO SynCon Hub vs Maersk Spot vs CMA CGM SpotOn vs ONE QUOTE
COSCO does not operate a branded spot product. SynCon Hub combines booking and spot rates in one flow; the others are branded products with published product-level terms. 'Not published' means the product-level commitment is not confirmed in public sources; it is not a claim that the feature is absent.
| Feature | COSCO SynCon Hub | Maersk Spot | CMA CGM SpotOn | ONE QUOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | SynCon Hub (synconhub.coscoshipping.com) | Maersk.com | My CMA CGM | Descartes Kontainers |
| Branded spot product? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Loading guarantee | Not published | Two-way (booked vessel +/- 3 days from ETD, or compensation) | Priority booking + priority loading | No |
| Rollable compensation | Not published | Yes | Not published | Not published |
| Equipment guarantee | 'Instant space and container guarantees' claimed on platform; product-level terms not published | Per Maersk Spot terms | Priority equipment release | Not published |
| DG eligible | Yes, through standard COSCO booking channels | Per Maersk Spot terms | Per SpotOn terms | No — must use standard contract channels |
| Price validity | Not published | At booking time, subject to Maersk Spot terms | 24h price lock (72h with Lock My Price) | Rate valid for the specific vessel and schedule selected at quoting time |
| Priority booking confirmation | Not published | Instant (~25 seconds) | Within 2 hours | Not published |
TMS compatibility for COSCO booking
Expedion agents place COSCO bookings from within your existing TMS. For CargoWise users, agents exchange booking data via the eAdaptor API and route submissions through EDI IFTMIN via INTTRA or authenticated SynCon Hub (synconhub.coscoshipping.com) sessions. For Magaya, agents use Magaya Connect with API calls into COSCO channels. For GoFreight, agents drive SynCon Hub directly through REST integration. For Logi-Sys, agents operate over EDI via INTTRA. Teams that have built against COP (cop.lines.coscoshipping.com) open API get a native integration through that channel.
COSCO does not operate a branded instant-quote product equivalent to Maersk Spot or CMA CGM SpotOn. SynCon Hub combines booking and spot pricing within the base flow; product-level terms (rollable compensation, price validity window) are not laid out on a single product page. Expedion agents drive SynCon Hub to capture quote-to-booking within the same session and surface the operating carrier from the booking confirmation back to the TMS. Full TMS compatibility details are on the COSCO overview page.
Related pages
COSCO carrier pages: Overview · Shipping instructions · Bill of lading · Documentation · Tracking & visibility
Booking across carriers: Maersk booking · MSC booking · CMA CGM booking · Hapag-Lloyd booking · ONE booking · Evergreen booking
Ocean Alliance context: OOCL — COSCO subsidiary with separate IT systems, SCAC (OOLU), and customer portal (MyOOCL).
Solutions: Booking automation
Glossary: SCAC Code
Frequently asked questions
Does COSCO have a branded spot product like Maersk Spot or CMA CGM SpotOn?
No. COSCO does not operate a branded instant-quote product equivalent to Maersk Spot, CMA CGM SpotOn, or ONE QUOTE. SynCon Hub combines booking and spot pricing within a single platform rather than a separately branded product tier. SynCon Hub markets instant space and container guarantees as part of the base booking flow, but product-level terms (rollable compensation, equipment guarantee, price validity window) are not laid out on a single product page and are not confirmed in public sources. For time-critical cargo, confirm space commitment terms with the local COSCO office rather than relying on SynCon Hub defaults.
What happens when my COSCO booking sails on a CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen vessel?
Ocean Alliance vessel sharing means a COSCO booking may execute on a COSCO, CMA CGM, OOCL, or Evergreen vessel under the Day 10 Product (approximately 390 vessels across 41 weekly service loops). The operating carrier is determined by the service string rotation; forwarders cannot select which alliance member operates a specific voyage. The booking confirmation specifies the operating carrier. Documentation (SI, BL) still routes through COSCO under COSU regardless of the operating ship. Tracking feed source, equipment pool, and terminal handling follow the operating carrier — COSCO's DCSA T&T v2.2 conformance is unconfirmed in public sources while CMA CGM's is confirmed live, so tracking granularity may vary by operating carrier.
How does Ocean Alliance reliability affect COSCO booking decisions?
Sea-Intelligence GLP #177 (April 2026, ALL arrivals) reports Ocean Alliance schedule reliability at 67.6%. For context: Gemini Cooperation 85.0%, MSC standalone 73.4%, Ocean Alliance 67.6%, Premier Alliance 54.2%. Sea-Intelligence does not publish COSCO-specific carrier-level reliability; the 67.6% is alliance-level. Forwarders should calibrate ETA commitments against that baseline rather than Gemini or MSC benchmarks, build larger schedule buffers on consignee commitments, and use proactive tracking rather than passive milestone polling to catch delays before they cascade into missed connections.
Will Section 301 port-call fees affect my US-bound COSCO booking in 2026?
Not during the current suspension. USTR suspended all Chinese-vessel port-call fees from 10 November 2025 through 9 November 2026, and during that window no surcharges apply to COSCO US-bound bookings. The initial rate framework that was in place before the suspension was USD 50 per net ton for Chinese-operated vessels (Annex I), the higher of USD 18 per net ton or USD 120 per container for Chinese-built vessels (Annex II), charged up to 5 times per year per vessel. COSCO and OOCL recorded approximately USD 43 million in first-week fees before the suspension. HSBC and Seatrade Maritime estimated USD 1.5–2.1 billion annual impact if fees resume. COSCO has pledged not to pass fees to customers.
How should I think about COSCO bookings with sailings after 9 November 2026?
Treat the 9 November 2026 suspension expiry as a booking-decision watchpoint. COSCO has pledged not to pass fees to customers, but if the suspension lapses without replacement and the original escalation schedule resumes (Year 2 Annex I at USD 80 per net ton), service patterns, vessel deployment, and spot rates may shift. Operational contingencies COSCO may use include routing non-Chinese-built vessels to US ports, shifting Chinese-built capacity to non-US trades, leveraging Ocean Alliance partners (CMA CGM and Evergreen) to deploy non-Chinese vessels on US loops, or transhipping via Canada or Mexico. No evidence of systematic COSCO reflagging was observed as of April 2026. Expedion agents surface the suspension expiry date at booking time for any sailing dated after it.
What are COSCO's booking cancellation and no-show fees?
Not published in public sources. COSCO does not publish a consolidated cancellation or no-show fee schedule in its tariffs. Booking amendments and cancellations route through SynCon Hub, COP, EDI via INTTRA, or the original booking channel. Fees surface only after the fact via invoice in the geographies where they apply. Whether fees are waived for volume accounts is not confirmed in public sources. Expedion agents escalate cancellations to the local COSCO office for fee confirmation before submitting changes.
Has COSCO's Transatlantic capacity changed in 2026?
Yes. Three Transatlantic services include ONE tonnage under a separate cooperation agreement with Ocean Alliance. That cooperation was reduced in early 2026 to two loops with 14 vessels — a 37% capacity cut on the North Atlantic. Forwarders running Transatlantic with COSCO should expect fewer sailings per week than in 2025 and check the current schedule before committing to weekly cadence assumptions. The rest of the Ocean Alliance Day 10 Product network (~390 vessels, 41 weekly loops, 520+ direct port pairs) is unchanged.