Germany
FranceHamburg to Le Havre shipping route.
500 nautical miles direct, about 1.5 days of steaming at 14 knots.
Sea Distance Between Ports: Hamburg and Le Havre
Port to Port Distance on the map, along real shipping lanes.
HamburgSeaLe HavreShipping time from Hamburg to Le Havre
| Route | Distance | 12 kn | 14 kn | 18 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| direct (shortest) | 500 nm | 1.7 d | 1.5 d | 1.2 d |
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About the Hamburg to Le Havre shipping route
Hamburg to Le Havre is a 500 nautical mile shipping route on a direct course, heading south west from Germany to France. That is 926 km of water against 817 km as the crow flies. No canals or major straits on this leg, the ship stays close to the direct line.
Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 1.5 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 1.7 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 1.2. 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 Hamburg and Le Havre to plan the full ocean transit time.
489 nm of the route, 98% of it, lies inside North 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 Hamburg to Le Havre move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Le Havre (FRLEH) 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 64 port to port routes from Hamburg in this directory, Le Havre is the 6th shortest. Closer destinations include London Gateway (404 nm), Gothenburg (389 nm) and Felixstowe (372 nm).
FAQ
How many nautical miles from Hamburg to Le Havre?
The port to port distance from Hamburg to Le Havre is 500 nautical miles (926 km), direct.
What is the shipping time from Hamburg to Le Havre?
About 1.5 days at 14 knots and 1.2 days at 18 knots of steaming, without port calls. Scheduled liner services add calls and transhipment.
How much of the route is in an emission control area?
489 nm sit inside ECA waters (North Sea ECA), where ships burn 0.1% sulphur fuel.
Is the return route the same?
The reverse route Le Havre to Hamburg has its own page with the same distance and route.
More port to port distance
- Hamburg to
Rotterdam310 nm - Hamburg to
Antwerp362 nm - Hamburg to
Felixstowe372 nm - Hamburg to
Gothenburg389 nm - Hamburg to London Gateway404 nm
- Hamburg to
Gdansk785 nm - Bremerhaven to Le Havre454 nm
- Gothenburg to Le Havre679 nm
- Gdansk to Le Havre1,075 nm
Algeciras to Le Havre1,207 nm- Valencia to Le Havre1,591 nm
- Barcelona to Le Havre1,730 nm
How we count: sea routes follow shipping lanes and canals, time is pure steaming at 14 knots without port calls. Engine navo-distance-time 0.3.0. See all sea distance between ports or the Shipping Routes Directory.