Le Havre to Mombasa shipping route.

Ships leaving Le Havre for Mombasa head south east and cover a sea distance of 6,211 nautical miles (11,502 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 7,065 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.

Pure steaming time is 18.5 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 21.6 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 14.4. 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 Le Havre and Mombasa 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 8,589 nm instead of 6,211 nm and spends roughly 7.1 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, 35% 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.

Container freight rates on Le Havre 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 61 port to port routes from Le Havre in this directory, Mombasa is the 32nd shortest. Closer destinations include Buenos Aires (6,189 nm), Nhava Sheva (6,180 nm) and Mundra (6,166 nm).