Houston to Mombasa shipping route.

Ships leaving Houston for Mombasa head east and cover a sea distance of 9,794 nautical miles (18,138 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 14,491 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez Canal, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

At sea, the voyage lasts 34.0 days at 12 knots, 29.2 days at 14 knots and 22.7 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 Houston and Mombasa to plan the full ocean transit time.

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 10,081 nautical miles, 287 more, and adds about 0.9 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.

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 Mombasa move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one.

Of the 65 port to port routes from Houston in this directory, Mombasa is the 48th shortest. Closer destinations include Nhava Sheva (9,763 nm), Mundra (9,749 nm) and Busan (9,737 nm).