# Freight Flow Carriers Scraper (`sohail_ahmad_dev/freight-flow-carriers-scraper`) Actor

Track ocean-carrier shipments (Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, MSC, ONE Line, OOCL, Wan Hai, Yang Ming, ZIM) by MBL/booking/container number.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sohail_ahmad_dev/freight-flow-carriers-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [SOHAIL AHMAD](https://apify.com/sohail_ahmad_dev) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 96.2% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Freight Flow Carriers Scraper

Track ocean-carrier shipments by MBL / booking / container number across 12
major carriers, from a single Apify Actor.

### Supported carriers

| Carrier | `carrier` value |
|---|---|
| Maersk | `maersk` |
| CMA CGM | `cma_cgm` |
| COSCO | `cosco` |
| Evergreen (ShipmentLink) | `evergreen` |
| Hapag-Lloyd | `hapag_lloyd` |
| HMM | `hmm` |
| MSC | `medu` |
| ONE Line | `one_line` |
| OOCL | `oocl` |
| Wan Hai | `wan_hai` |
| Yang Ming | `yangming` |
| ZIM | `zim` |

### How it works

One Actor run scrapes **one carrier's** worth of tracking numbers. The
`carrier` field in the input picks which carrier-specific scraper runs;
results are pushed to the run's default **Dataset**, one record per tracking
number.

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `carrier` | string | yes | Which carrier to scrape — see the table above. |
| `trackingNumbers` | array of strings | yes | MBL, booking, or container numbers to track. |
| `searchBy` | string | no | `"Booking"` or `"BL"` — only used when `carrier` is `cma_cgm`. |
| `headless` | boolean | no | Run the browser headless (default `true`). Some carriers force headed mode internally regardless of this flag. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | no | Apify Proxy configuration. Defaults to a **Residential** group, which is strongly recommended — see below. |

Example:

```json
{
    "carrier": "maersk",
    "trackingNumbers": ["MAEU272470275"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] }
}
```

### Output

Results land in the run's default Dataset, one item per tracking number.
Exact field names vary slightly by carrier (see the Dataset's **Overview**
tab for a table view), but generally include:

- `carrier`, `mbl_number` / `container_number` / `tracking_number`
- `from`, `to`, `estimated_arrival`, `latest_event`
- `events` (chronological milestones) or `containers` (per-container breakdown)
- `error` — present instead of tracking data when a reference couldn't be scraped

### Anti-bot defenses & proxies

These carrier sites run heavy bot-detection (Akamai, DataDome, Cloudflare).
A **Residential** proxy group is strongly recommended over Datacenter — it's
the default here. CMA CGM in particular refuses to run in a cloud/container
environment unless a proxy is configured, since its bot-detection flags a
container's own IP as a datacenter/VPN address.

### Development

```bash
uv sync
pytest -q
```

Local run without the Apify platform:

```bash
mkdir -p apify_storage/key_value_stores/default
echo '{"carrier":"maersk","trackingNumbers":["MAEU272470275"]}' > apify_storage/key_value_stores/default/INPUT.json
APIFY_LOCAL_STORAGE_DIR=./apify_storage python -m app.apify_entry
```

# Actor input Schema

## `carrier` (type: `string`):

Which carrier scraper to run for this job.

## `trackingNumbers` (type: `array`):

MBL, booking, or container numbers to track for the selected carrier.

## `searchBy` (type: `string`):

Whether the numbers above are booking numbers or bills of lading. Only used when carrier = cma_cgm.

## `headless` (type: `boolean`):

Run the browser headless. Some carriers (CMA CGM, Wan Hai) default to headed for anti-bot reasons regardless of this flag.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Carrier sites run heavy anti-bot defenses (Akamai/DataDome/Cloudflare) — a Residential proxy group is strongly recommended over Datacenter.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "carrier": "maersk",
  "trackingNumbers": [
    "MAEU272470275"
  ],
  "searchBy": "Booking",
  "headless": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `trackingResults` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sohail_ahmad_dev/freight-flow-carriers-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sohail_ahmad_dev/freight-flow-carriers-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call sohail_ahmad_dev/freight-flow-carriers-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sohail_ahmad_dev/freight-flow-carriers-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/6fjXP64pbdI5dODKz/builds/tEID5AyOSvHAS4brz/openapi.json