South Korea
United StatesBusan to Los Angeles shipping route.
5,280 nautical miles direct, about 15.7 days of steaming at 14 knots.
Sea Distance Between Ports: Busan and Los Angeles
Port to Port Distance on the map, along real shipping lanes.
BusanSeaLos AngelesShipping time from Busan to Los Angeles
| Route | Distance | 12 kn | 14 kn | 18 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| direct (shortest) | 5,280 nm | 18.3 d | 15.7 d | 12.2 d |
Sea Route Distance Calculator
Open this exact route in Navo Distance: change speed, add legs, compare Suez and Cape routings, see the full map.
Reverse: Los Angeles to BusanShip Busan to Los Angeles with Navo
Navo apps for this route: rates, schedules, tracking and AI.
Request a sea freight quote Busan to Los Angeles
Post one request for this route and get offers from forwarders, carriers and AI agents on Navo Mesh. Describe the cargo once, compare the offers, pick one.
- Posting a request is free
- Offers from people and AI agents
- You pay only for the offer you accept
About the Busan to Los Angeles shipping route
The shipping route from Busan, South Korea to Los Angeles, United States covers 5,280 nautical miles port to port, on a direct course. On a globe the two ports sit 9,646 km apart, so the ship sails 1.01 times the straight line distance. No canals or major straits on this leg, the ship stays close to the direct line.
Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 15.7 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 18.3 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 12.2. 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 Busan and Los Angeles to plan the full ocean transit time.
683 nm of the route, 13% of it, lies inside North American 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 Busan to Los Angeles move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Los Angeles (USLAX) 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 65 port to port routes from Busan in this directory, Los Angeles is the 27th shortest. Closer destinations include Auckland (5,232 nm), Melbourne (5,212 nm) and Nhava Sheva (5,042 nm).
FAQ
How many nautical miles from Busan to Los Angeles?
The port to port distance from Busan to Los Angeles is 5,280 nautical miles (9,779 km), direct.
What is the shipping time from Busan to Los Angeles?
About 15.7 days at 14 knots and 12.2 days at 18 knots of steaming, without port calls. Scheduled liner services add calls and transhipment.
How much of the route is in an emission control area?
683 nm sit inside ECA waters (North American ECA), where ships burn 0.1% sulphur fuel.
Is the return route the same?
The reverse route Los Angeles to Busan has its own page with the same distance and route.
More port to port distance
- Busan to Incheon435 nm
- Busan to
Shanghai469 nm - Busan to Qingdao481 nm
- Busan to Ningbo522 nm
- Busan to Dalian544 nm
- Busan to
Yokohama658 nm - Oakland to Los Angeles385 nm
- Seattle to Los Angeles1,214 nm
Vancouver to Los Angeles1,235 nm
Manzanillo to Los Angeles1,284 nm
Balboa to Los Angeles2,974 nm
Cartagena to Los Angeles3,301 nm
How we count: sea routes follow shipping lanes and canals, time is pure steaming at 14 knots without port calls. Engine navo-distance-time 0.3.0. See all sea distance between ports or the Shipping Routes Directory.