---
source_url: "https://docs.vizionapi.com/docs/dcsa-milestones"
title: DCSA Event and Location Codes
mirrored_at: 2026-08-06T01:40:05.740Z
host: docs.vizionapi.com
cited_in_42a: true
mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/docs.vizionapi.com/docs/dcsa-milestones"
---

> **Original source:** https://docs.vizionapi.com/docs/dcsa-milestones

Feature that creates a codified milestone in accordance to DCSA guidance and best practices, minimizing the dependence on maintaining a list of standardized event descriptions.

DCSA Event and Location Codes can reduce developer time by providing a programmable field to key on, enhancing the ability to filter specific event types, and reducing the need to maintain a list of Vizion's standardized descriptions.

Through the years Track & Trace solutions have become a common service in the container shipping industry. However, due to misalignment of terminology and ways of working each carrier have designed their own events, which are published on their webpage.

One such example is carrier-reported "Vessel arrival" events. To carriers such as ONE Line, Yang-Ming and Hyundai Merchant Marine, this event means the vessel is at anchor, or in the vicinity of a port terminal. For other carriers, this published event means the vessel has berthed.

To align this type of reporting across the industry [the DCSA](https://dcsa.org/) has developed a Naming Convention to ensure equal interpretation of events published and that business needs are adequately reflected in the development of data and interface standards for Track & Trace.

Additionally, leveraging DCSA Event and Location codes, as shown in the `Milestone` below, would replace the need to identify all of following standardized descriptions to understand when a container is loaded at the Port of Loading:

-   Loaded on vessel at origin port
-   Loaded on feeder at origin port
-   Loaded on barge at origin port

```
{
    ...
    "journey_event": {
        "journey_type": "EQUIPMENT",
        "event_classifier": "ACT",
        "event_type": "LOAD",
        "empty_indicator": "FULL",
        "transport_mode": "VESSEL",
        "facility_type": "POTE"
    },
    "shipment_location": {
        "type_code": "POL"
    },
    ...
}
```

Event codes, found in the `Milestone` object, utilize a [discriminator](https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification/blob/main/versions/3.1.0.md#discriminator-object) JSON structure to compose a `journey_event` object, separated into three specific types (`journey_type`):

1.  **The Equipment Journey:** governs the naming and understanding of events driven by physical occurrences related to the equipment (container) in question.
    
2.  **The Transport Journey:** governs occurrences in the general transport of a shipment. This includes all customer relevant events carried out by one or more modes of transport.
    
3.  **The Shipment Journey:** governs the occurrences in the customer facing information flow tied to a shipment.
    

> 🔗

> 📘

Location codes, found in the `Milestone` object, are used to identify how an Event's location relates to the overall shipment via a `shipment_location` object.

To map Vizion's [core milestones](https://docs.vizionapi.com/docs/core-milestones) to your system, you can expect to see the below values for the `journey_event` and `shipment_location` objects. If you would like to include planned events, you can filter by the `event_classifier` value of `PLN`, in addition to actual events (`ACT`).

**Milestone description**

**journey\_type**

**event\_classifier**

**event\_type**

**empty\_indicator**

**transport\_mode**

**shipment\_location (type\_code)**

Gate out empty at origin port

EQUIPMENT

ACT

GTOT

EMPTY

TRUCK

POL

Gate out empty

EQUIPMENT

ACT

GTOT

EMPTY

TRUCK

PRE or null

Gate in full at origin port

EQUIPMENT

ACT

GTIN

LADEN

TRUCK

POL

Loaded on vessel at origin port

EQUIPMENT

ACT

LOAD

LADEN

VESSEL

POL

Vessel departed from origin port

TRANSPORT

ACT

DEPA

VESSEL

POL

Vessel arrived at destination port

TRANSPORT

ACT

ARRI

VESSEL

POD

Gate out from destination port

EQUIPMENT

ACT

GTOT

LADEN

TRUCK

POD

Gate in empty return

EQUIPMENT

ACT

GTIN

EMPTY

TRUCK

POD, PDE, or null

DCSA Event and Location Codes can be enabled for your account (on both demo and production environments of the API) as a part of a new or existing plan at no additional cost. Please request this feature by [contacting support](https://share.hsforms.com/1B6wNyBBSR6uMotj--8Z_0Q56czk).

Updated 11 months ago

* * *

Did this page help you?