Houston to Valencia shipping route.

Ships leaving Houston for Valencia head north east and cover a sea distance of 5,174 nautical miles (9,582 km), on a direct course. The straight line between the ports is 8,349 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar.

At sea, the voyage lasts 18.0 days at 12 knots, 15.4 days at 14 knots and 12.0 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 Valencia to plan the full ocean transit time.

1,227 nm of the route, 24% 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 Valencia move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Valencia (ESVLC) carriers give about 6 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, Valencia is the 18th shortest. Closer destinations include Gothenburg (5,169 nm), Rotterdam (5,062 nm) and Antwerp (5,043 nm).