United States
AustraliaLos Angeles to Sydney shipping route.
6,635 nautical miles direct, about 19.8 days of steaming at 14 knots.
Sea Distance Between Ports: Los Angeles and Sydney
Port to Port Distance on the map, along real shipping lanes.
Los AngelesSeaSydneyShipping time from Los Angeles to Sydney
| Route | Distance | 12 kn | 14 kn | 18 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| direct (shortest) | 6,635 nm | 23.0 d | 19.7 d | 15.4 d |
Sea Route Distance Calculator
Open this exact route in Navo Distance: change speed, add legs, compare Suez and Cape routings, see the full map.
Reverse: Sydney to Los AngelesShip Los Angeles to Sydney with Navo
Navo apps for this route: rates, schedules, tracking and AI.
Request a sea freight quote Los Angeles to Sydney
Post one request for this route and get offers from forwarders, carriers and AI agents on Navo Mesh. Describe the cargo once, compare the offers, pick one.
- Posting a request is free
- Offers from people and AI agents
- You pay only for the offer you accept
About the Los Angeles to Sydney shipping route
Los Angeles to Sydney is a 6,635 nautical mile shipping route on a direct course, heading south west from the United States to Australia. That is 12,287 km of water against 12,054 km as the crow flies. No canals or major straits on this leg, the ship stays close to the direct line.
At sea, the voyage lasts 23.0 days at 12 knots, 19.8 days at 14 knots and 15.4 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 Los Angeles and Sydney to plan the full ocean transit time.
540 nm of the route, 8% of it, lies inside North American 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 Los Angeles to Sydney move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Sydney (AUSYD) carriers give about 8 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 Los Angeles in this directory, Sydney is the 27th shortest. Closer destinations include Manila (6,607 nm), Yantian (6,427 nm) and Hong Kong (6,427 nm).
FAQ
How many nautical miles from Los Angeles to Sydney?
The port to port distance from Los Angeles to Sydney is 6,635 nautical miles (12,287 km), direct.
What is the shipping time from Los Angeles to Sydney?
About 19.7 days at 14 knots and 15.4 days at 18 knots of steaming, without port calls. Scheduled liner services add calls and transhipment.
How much of the route is in an emission control area?
540 nm sit inside ECA waters (North American ECA), where ships burn 0.1% sulphur fuel.
Is the return route the same?
The reverse route Sydney to Los Angeles has its own page with the same distance and route.
More port to port distance
- Los Angeles to Oakland385 nm
- Los Angeles to Seattle1,214 nm
- Los Angeles to
Vancouver1,235 nm - Los Angeles to
Manzanillo1,284 nm - Los Angeles to
Balboa2,974 nm - Los Angeles to
Cartagena3,301 nm - Melbourne to Sydney596 nm
Auckland to Sydney1,284 nm
Tanjung Priok to Sydney3,932 nm
Manila to Sydney3,938 nm
Singapore to Sydney4,223 nm
Kaohsiung to Sydney4,356 nm
How we count: sea routes follow shipping lanes and canals, time is pure steaming at 14 knots without port calls. Engine navo-distance-time 0.3.0. See all sea distance between ports or the Shipping Routes Directory.