Rotterdam to Busan shipping route.

Rotterdam to Busan is a 10,912 nautical mile shipping route via Suez Canal, heading north east from the Netherlands to South Korea. That is 20,209 km of water against 8,946 km as the crow flies. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and Strait of Gibraltar, 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 32.5 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 37.9 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 25.3. Liner schedules on the lane quote 34 to 38 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 3 sailings by 1 carrier (ONE).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Panama Canal sails 13,039 nm instead of 10,912 nm and spends roughly 6.3 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

2,341 nm of the route, 21% of it, lies inside North Sea ECA and 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 NLRTM to KRPUS start at $2,564 for a 20GP and $3,926 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 Busan (KRPUS) carriers give about 10 free days before demurrage and detention charges start, so plan the truck or rail pickup before the box lands.

Of the 60 port to port routes from Rotterdam in this directory, Busan is the 53rd shortest. Closer destinations include Qingdao (10,853 nm), Shanghai (10,589 nm) and Ningbo (10,475 nm).