Piraeus to Ho Chi Minh City shipping route.

The shipping route from Piraeus, Greece to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam covers 6,298 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 8,670 km apart, so the ship sails 1.35 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 18.7 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 21.9 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 14.6. Liner schedules on the lane quote 26 to 68 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 37 sailings by 2 carriers (ONE and OOCL).

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 12,808 nautical miles, 6,510 more, and adds about 19.4 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.

597 nm of the route, 9% 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 GRPIR to VNSGN start at $2,970 for a 20GP and $4,590 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 Ho Chi Minh City (VNSGN) carriers give about 4 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 Piraeus in this directory, Ho Chi Minh City is the 40th shortest. Closer destinations include Houston (6,217 nm), Cape Town (6,116 nm) and Tanjung Priok (5,946 nm).