Mersin to Kaohsiung shipping route.

The shipping route from Mersin, Türkiye to Kaohsiung, Taiwan covers 7,113 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 8,156 km apart, so the ship sails 1.62 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb and Strait of Malacca, 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 21.2 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 24.7 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 16.5. 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 Mersin and Kaohsiung to plan the full ocean transit time.

The shortest route goes through the Red Sea. Since attacks on shipping began there in late 2023, many carriers send ships via Cape of Good Hope instead. That route is 14,233 nautical miles, 7,120 more, and adds about 21.2 days at 14 knots. Longer voyages burn more fuel and tie up more ships, which is why freight rates on Red Sea lanes jumped when the diversions started.

371 nm of the route, 5% of it, lies inside 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 Mersin to Kaohsiung move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Kaohsiung (TWKHH) carriers give about 7 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 Mersin in this directory, Kaohsiung is the 47th shortest. Closer destinations include Xiamen (7,101 nm), Yantian (6,897 nm) and Hong Kong (6,876 nm).