Cartagena to Jebel Ali shipping route.

The shipping route from Cartagena, Colombia to Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates covers 9,023 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 13,368 km apart, so the ship sails 1.25 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Gibraltar and Strait of Hormuz, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 26.9 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 31.3 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 20.9. 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 Cartagena and Jebel Ali to plan the full ocean transit time.

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Cape of Good Hope sails 11,057 nm instead of 9,023 nm and spends roughly 6.1 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

1,935 nm of the route, 21% 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.

Container freight rates on Cartagena to Jebel Ali move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Jebel Ali (AEJEA) 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 Cartagena in this directory, Jebel Ali is the 49th shortest. Closer destinations include Qingdao (8,993 nm), Shanghai (8,982 nm) and Karachi (8,948 nm).