Le Havre to Dalian shipping route.

The shipping route from Le Havre, France to Dalian, China covers 10,798 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 8,639 km apart, so the ship sails 2.31 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and Suez Canal, 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 32.1 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 37.5 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 25.0. Liner schedules on the lane quote 41 to 58 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 35 sailings by 5 carriers (CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, ONE and OOCL).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Panama Canal sails 13,390 nm instead of 10,798 nm and spends roughly 7.7 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

2,159 nm of the route, 20% of it, lies inside North 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 FRLEH to CNDLC start at $2,279 for a 20GP and $3,506 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 Dalian (CNDLC) 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 61 port to port routes from Le Havre in this directory, Dalian is the 56th shortest. Closer destinations include Incheon (10,783 nm), Busan (10,714 nm) and Qingdao (10,655 nm).