Houston to Jebel Ali shipping route.

Ships leaving Houston for Jebel Ali head north east and cover a sea distance of 9,663 nautical miles (17,896 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 13,153 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Gibraltar and Strait of Hormuz, 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 28.8 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 33.6 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 22.4. 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 Houston and Jebel Ali 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 12,354 nm instead of 9,663 nm and spends roughly 8.0 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

2,746 nm of the route, 28% of it, lies inside North American 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 Houston to Jebel Ali move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Jebel Ali (AEJEA) 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 65 port to port routes from Houston in this directory, Jebel Ali is the 43rd shortest. Closer destinations include Karachi (9,589 nm), Sydney (9,386 nm) and Tokyo (9,373 nm).