Mersin to Karachi shipping route.

The shipping route from Mersin, Türkiye to Karachi, Pakistan covers 3,266 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 3,337 km apart, so the ship sails 1.81 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal and Bab-el-Mandeb, 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 9.7 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 11.3 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 7.6. 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 Karachi to plan the full ocean transit time.

371 nm of the route, 11% 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 Karachi move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Karachi (PKKHI) 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 Mersin in this directory, Karachi is the 12th shortest. Closer destinations include Le Havre (3,170 nm), Salalah (2,408 nm) and Algeciras (1,985 nm).