Hamburg to Ho Chi Minh City shipping route.

Ships leaving Hamburg for Ho Chi Minh City head east and cover a sea distance of 9,263 nautical miles (17,155 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 9,484 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and Suez Canal, 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 27.6 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 32.2 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 21.4. Liner schedules on the lane quote 34 to 48 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 33 sailings by 4 carriers (Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE and OOCL).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Cape of Good Hope sails 12,707 nm instead of 9,263 nm and spends roughly 10.3 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

2,599 nm of the route, 28% 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 DEHAM to VNSGN start at $1,984 for a 20GP and $3,269 for a 40GP ($3,019 for a 40HC). These are spot market prices from carriers that sail the lane; your quote will also include terminal handling, documentation and any bunker surcharge. At Ho Chi Minh City (VNSGN) carriers give about 4 free days before demurrage and detention charges start, so plan the truck or rail pickup before the box lands.

Of the 64 port to port routes from Hamburg in this directory, Ho Chi Minh City is the 44th shortest. Closer destinations include Tanjung Priok (8,911 nm), Singapore (8,634 nm) and Oakland (8,467 nm).