Rotterdam to Hong Kong shipping route.

Ships leaving Rotterdam for Hong Kong head north east and cover a sea distance of 9,814 nautical miles (18,175 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 9,332 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and Suez Canal, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

At sea, the voyage lasts 34.1 days at 12 knots, 29.2 days at 14 knots and 22.7 days at 18 knots. Liner schedules on the lane quote 31 to 58 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 84 sailings by 7 carriers (CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and MSC).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Cape of Good Hope sails 13,149 nm instead of 9,814 nm and spends roughly 9.9 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, 24% 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 HKHKG start at $1,825 for a 20GP and $3,119 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 Hong Kong (HKHKG) 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 60 port to port routes from Rotterdam in this directory, Hong Kong is the 46th shortest. Closer destinations include Manila (9,738 nm), Haiphong (9,694 nm) and Laem Chabang (9,178 nm).