Colombo to Piraeus shipping route.

Ships leaving Colombo for Piraeus head north west and cover a sea distance of 4,122 nautical miles (7,633 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 6,601 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal and Bab-el-Mandeb, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

At sea, the voyage lasts 14.3 days at 12 knots, 12.3 days at 14 knots and 9.5 days at 18 knots. 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 Colombo and Piraeus to plan the full ocean transit time.

597 nm of the route, 14% 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 Colombo to Piraeus move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Piraeus (GRPIR) carriers give about 6.75 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 Colombo in this directory, Piraeus is the 26th shortest. Closer destinations include Qingdao (4,077 nm), Mersin (3,896 nm) and Shanghai (3,813 nm).