Melbourne to Antwerp shipping route.

Ships leaving Melbourne for Antwerp head north west and cover a sea distance of 11,160 nautical miles (20,668 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 16,606 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.

Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 33.2 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 38.8 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 25.8. 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 Melbourne and Antwerp 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 12,165 nm instead of 11,160 nm and spends roughly 3.0 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

2,333 nm of the route, 21% 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 Melbourne to Antwerp move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Antwerp (BEANR) carriers give about 5 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 Melbourne in this directory, Antwerp is the 59th shortest. Closer destinations include London Gateway (11,109 nm), Felixstowe (11,107 nm) and Le Havre (10,981 nm).