London Gateway to Djibouti shipping route.

The shipping route from London Gateway, United Kingdom to Djibouti, Djibouti covers 4,614 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 5,864 km apart, so the ship sails 1.46 times the straight line distance. 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.

Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 13.7 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 16.0 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 10.7. 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 London Gateway and Djibouti to plan the full ocean transit time.

2,286 nm of the route, 50% 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 London Gateway to Djibouti move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Djibouti (DJJIB) carriers give about 10 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 London Gateway in this directory, Djibouti is the 19th shortest. Closer destinations include Lagos (Apapa) (4,191 nm), Jeddah (3,954 nm) and Savannah (3,795 nm).