Build the EDI 300 transaction set: ISA and GS envelope headers with your sender/receiver SCAC identifiers, then the B2A booking request segment including vessel code, voyage number, booking origin, and port of loading/discharge
Include the Y4 container details loop for each container requested: equipment type (ISO size/type code), quantity, and commodity description; add the V1 vessel identification segment with vessel name and flag country
Add the N1 party identification loop for shipper, consignee, and freight forwarder with their SCAC or DUNS identifiers; include the L5 description/marks-and-numbers segment for cargo description
Transmit the EDI 300 to the ocean carrier's EDI mailbox via your VAN (e.g. IBM Sterling, OpenEDI) or a direct AS2 or SFTP connection as configured in your trading partner agreement
Poll your inbound EDI mailbox for the carrier's EDI 301 response; parse the B2B segment for the booking number, confirmed vessel and voyage, and equipment type; check the booking status code to confirm acceptance vs. conditional booking
Reconcile the 301 confirmed equipment count against your 300 request; if the carrier confirmed fewer containers than requested (partial booking), trigger a capacity shortfall workflow to obtain supplemental bookings or reroute cargo
Known gotchas
The EDI 300 and 301 transaction sets are defined under the ANSI X12 4010 standard; some carriers have migrated to EDIFACT IFTMBF/IFTMBC equivalents for international booking, requiring a separate message format even if the data content is identical
Vessel code and voyage number in the EDI 300 must exactly match the carrier's published schedule; even a leading-zero difference in the voyage number causes the carrier's EDI system to reject the booking as an unrecognized sailing
Ocean carrier EDI systems often have cutoff times for booking request receipt (typically 24-48 hours before vessel cut); an EDI 300 submitted after the cutoff may receive an EDI 301 with a conditional status rather than a confirmed booking
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp