Antwerp to Incheon shipping route.

The shipping route from Antwerp, Belgium to Incheon, South Korea covers 10,962 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 8,666 km apart, so the ship sails 2.34 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and Suez Canal, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

Pure steaming time is 32.6 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 38.1 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 25.4. 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 Incheon to plan the full ocean transit time.

The shortest route goes through the Red Sea. Since attacks on shipping began there in late 2023, many carriers send ships via Panama Canal instead. That route is 13,455 nautical miles, 2,494 more, and adds about 7.4 days at 14 knots. Longer voyages burn more fuel and tie up more ships, which is why freight rates on Red Sea lanes jumped when the diversions started.

2,333 nm of the route, 21% of it, lies inside North Sea ECA and Mediterranean 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 Incheon move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Incheon (KRINC) carriers give about 10 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, Incheon is the 55th shortest. Closer destinations include Busan (10,893 nm), Qingdao (10,834 nm) and Shanghai (10,569 nm).