Mombasa to Marsaxlokk shipping route.

The shipping route from Mombasa, Kenya to Marsaxlokk, Malta covers 4,052 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 5,149 km apart, so the ship sails 1.46 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.

Pure steaming time is 12.1 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 14.1 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 9.4. 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 Mombasa and Marsaxlokk 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 8,694 nm instead of 4,052 nm and spends roughly 13.8 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

952 nm of the route, 23% 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 Mombasa to Marsaxlokk move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Marsaxlokk (MTMAR) 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 Mombasa in this directory, Marsaxlokk is the 15th shortest. Closer destinations include Port Klang (3,941 nm), Piraeus (3,697 nm) and Mersin (3,471 nm).