Felixstowe to Laem Chabang shipping route.

The shipping route from Felixstowe, United Kingdom to Laem Chabang, Thailand covers 9,106 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 9,505 km apart, so the ship sails 1.77 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and Strait of Gibraltar, 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 27.1 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 31.6 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 21.1. Liner schedules on the lane quote 34 to 43 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 18 sailings by 2 carriers (CMA CGM and OOCL).

The shortest route goes through the Red Sea. Since attacks on shipping began there in late 2023, many carriers send ships via Cape of Good Hope instead. That route is 12,550 nautical miles, 3,444 more, and adds about 10.3 days at 14 knots. Longer voyages burn more fuel and tie up more ships, which is why freight rates on Red Sea lanes jumped when the diversions started.

2,285 nm of the route, 25% of it, lies inside North Sea ECA and 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 GBFXT to THLCH start at $2,192 for a 20GP and $3,084 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 Laem Chabang (THLCH) carriers give about 5 free days before demurrage and detention charges start, so plan the truck or rail pickup before the box lands.

Of the 61 port to port routes from Felixstowe in this directory, Laem Chabang is the 44th shortest. Closer destinations include Vancouver (8,992 nm), Seattle (8,970 nm) and Ho Chi Minh City (8,938 nm).