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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Foundations

— 02

Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

X12 301 — Confirmation (Ocean)

The 301 is the ocean confirmation: the carrier replies to a 300 (booking request) by confirming or adjusting availability, or notifies a terminal / another carrier of the reservations on hand.

Purpose

The 301 confirms the booking requested by the 300: definitive booking number, assigned vessel and voyage, port of loading and discharge, confirmed ETAs. The carrier may also use it to notify other parties — port terminal, feeder carrier — of the booked move, even without an inbound 300.

The 301 does not generate the final Bill of Lading: that comes after the actual loading and is carried by other transactions (304 instructions, 858 manifest, or a paper BL).

Envelope structure

The 301 travels in a functional group RC (Ocean Confirmation). Didactic example in release 004010:

x12 example-301.x12 
ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*ACMEOCEAN     *ZZ*ACMESHIPPER   *260514*1100*U*00401*000000301*0*P*>~
GS*RC*ACMEOCEAN*ACMESHIPPER*20260514*1100*1*X*004010~
ST*301*0001~
B1*ACMEOCEAN*BK-2026-001*20260514*A~
Y3*BK-2026-001*EVERSHIP*01*20260601*USLAX**20260620*CNSHA~
N1*SH*ACME EXPORTS LTD*92*EXP-001~
N1*CN*ACME IMPORTS LTD*92*IMP-088~
N1*FW*ACME FORWARDER*92*FW-001~
Y2*1*40HQ**B*FROZEN GOODS~
SE*8*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000301~

The B1 opens the confirmation with SCAC, definitive booking number, status A = Accept. The Y3 states vessel, voyage, ETD at the load port, ETA at the discharge port. The N1 segments name the confirmed parties. The Y2 reconfirms the allocated container.

Common segments

  • Header — ST, B1 (Beginning Segment for Booking), DTM.
  • Voyage — Y3 (Space Confirmation), P4, P5.
  • Parties — N1 loop (SH, CN, NF, FW).
  • Containers — Y2 loop with Y4 (Container Release), L5.
  • Summary — SE.

Common pitfalls

  • Partial confirmation: if the carrier confirms only part of the requested containers, mark the status clearly on each Y2; otherwise the shipper assumes the booking is complete.
  • Vessel cut-off: the 301 confirms the loading date; shippers must adjust their 856 ASN cut-off date accordingly.
  • Vessel codes: the vessel name must be complete and the voyage code aligned with the SCAC + carrier nomenclature; for Maersk, MSC, verify the exact convention.

Documentation

The code 301 and the name Confirmation (Ocean) are public and listed on x12.org/products/transaction-sets.