Ho Chi Minh City to Gdansk shipping route.

The shipping route from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Gdansk, Poland covers 9,838 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 8,907 km apart, so the ship sails 2.05 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.

Pure steaming time is 29.3 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 34.2 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 22.8. Liner schedules on the lane quote 33 to 63 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 11 sailings by 3 carriers (Evergreen, Maersk 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 13,282 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.

3,185 nm of the route, 32% of it, lies inside North Sea ECA, Baltic 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 VNSGN to PLGDN start at $1,690 for a 20GP and $3,040 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 Gdansk (PLGDN) carriers give about 7.5 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 Ho Chi Minh City in this directory, Gdansk is the 56th shortest. Closer destinations include Santos (9,645 nm), Gothenburg (9,442 nm) and Hamburg (9,263 nm).