Felixstowe to Salalah shipping route.

Ships leaving Felixstowe for Salalah head east and cover a sea distance of 5,274 nautical miles (9,767 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 6,011 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez Canal, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

At sea, the voyage lasts 18.3 days at 12 knots, 15.7 days at 14 knots and 12.2 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 Felixstowe and Salalah 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 10,094 nm instead of 5,274 nm and spends roughly 14.3 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

2,285 nm of the route, 43% 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.

Container freight rates on Felixstowe to Salalah move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Salalah (OMSLL) carriers give about 3 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, Salalah is the 23rd shortest. Closer destinations include Houston (4,991 nm), Balboa (4,783 nm) and Cartagena (4,649 nm).