Gdansk to Balboa shipping route.

The shipping route from Gdansk, Poland to Balboa, Panama covers 5,544 nautical miles port to port, via Panama Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 9,726 km apart, so the ship sails 1.06 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Panama Canal, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

At sea, the voyage lasts 19.2 days at 12 knots, 16.5 days at 14 knots and 12.8 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 Gdansk and Balboa to plan the full ocean transit time.

1,025 nm of the route, 18% of it, lies inside US Caribbean Sea ECA, North Sea ECA and Baltic 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 Gdansk to Balboa move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Balboa (PABLB) carriers give about 7 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 Gdansk in this directory, Balboa is the 25th shortest. Closer destinations include Djibouti (5,513 nm), Cartagena (5,446 nm) and Lagos (Apapa) (5,090 nm).