Durban to Marsaxlokk shipping route.

Ships leaving Durban for Marsaxlokk head north and cover a sea distance of 5,599 nautical miles (10,370 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 7,504 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.

Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 16.7 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 19.4 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 13.0. 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 Durban and Marsaxlokk 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 6,937 nm instead of 5,599 nm and spends roughly 4.0 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

952 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.

Container freight rates on Durban to Marsaxlokk move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Marsaxlokk (MTMAR) 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 65 port to port routes from Durban in this directory, Marsaxlokk is the 21st shortest. Closer destinations include Ho Chi Minh City (5,572 nm), Piraeus (5,244 nm) and Mersin (5,018 nm).