Mersin to Qingdao shipping route.

The shipping route from Mersin, Türkiye to Qingdao, China covers 7,915 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 7,383 km apart, so the ship sails 1.99 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.

Pure steaming time is 23.6 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 27.5 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 18.3. Liner schedules on the lane quote 33 to 72 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 56 sailings by 8 carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and ONE).

The shortest route goes through the Red Sea. Since attacks on shipping began there in late 2023, many carriers send ships via Panama Canal instead. That route is 15,020 nautical miles, 7,105 more, and adds about 21.1 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.

Recent freight rates for TRMER to CNTAO start at $3,090 for a 20GP and $4,300 for a 40GP. These are spot market prices from carriers that sail the lane; your quote will also include terminal handling, documentation and any bunker surcharge. At Qingdao (CNTAO) carriers give about 6 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, Qingdao is the 52nd shortest. Closer destinations include Callao (7,740 nm), Shanghai (7,651 nm) and Ningbo (7,537 nm).