Antwerp to Houston shipping route.

The shipping route from Antwerp, Belgium to Houston, United States covers 5,043 nautical miles port to port, on a direct course. On a globe the two ports sit 8,098 km apart, so the ship sails 1.15 times the straight line distance. No canals or major straits on this leg, the ship stays close to the direct line.

Pure steaming time is 15.0 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 17.5 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 11.7. Container transit time on a liner service is longer than the steaming time: ships call at other ports on the rotation, and cargo may transship at a hub. Add terminal time at Antwerp and Houston to plan the full ocean transit time.

1,378 nm of the route, 27% of it, lies inside North American ECA and North Sea ECA. In an emission control area ships must burn fuel with no more than 0.1% sulphur or clean the exhaust with scrubbers. That fuel costs more, and carriers add it to the ocean freight bill as a low sulphur or ECA surcharge.

Container freight rates on Antwerp to Houston move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Houston (USHOU) carriers give about 4 free days before demurrage and detention charges start, so plan the truck or rail pickup before the box lands.

Of the 61 port to port routes from Antwerp in this directory, Houston is the 22nd shortest. Closer destinations include Balboa (4,835 nm), Cartagena (4,701 nm) and Djibouti (4,666 nm).