Barcelona to Dalian shipping route.

The shipping route from Barcelona, Spain to Dalian, China covers 9,279 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 9,193 km apart, so the ship sails 1.87 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb and Strait of Malacca, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

Pure steaming time is 27.6 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 32.2 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 21.5. Liner schedules on the lane quote 36 to 72 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 50 sailings by 7 carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Maersk, MSC and ONE).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Panama Canal sails 13,643 nm instead of 9,279 nm and spends roughly 13.0 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

1,591 nm of the route, 17% of it, lies inside 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.

Recent freight rates for ESBCN to CNDLC start at $2,925 for a 20GP and $3,940 for a 40GP. These are spot market prices from carriers that sail the lane; your quote will also include terminal handling, documentation and any bunker surcharge. At Dalian (CNDLC) carriers give about 6 free days before demurrage and detention charges start, so plan the truck or rail pickup before the box lands.

Of the 64 port to port routes from Barcelona in this directory, Dalian is the 59th shortest. Closer destinations include Incheon (9,263 nm), Busan (9,194 nm) and Qingdao (9,135 nm).