Rotterdam to Laem Chabang shipping route.

The shipping route from Rotterdam, Netherlands to Laem Chabang, Thailand covers 9,178 nautical miles port to port, via Suez Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 9,301 km apart, so the ship sails 1.83 times the straight line distance. 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.

Pure steaming time is 27.3 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 31.9 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 21.2. Liner schedules on the lane quote 29 to 50 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 42 sailings by 4 carriers (CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE and OOCL).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Cape of Good Hope sails 12,621 nm instead of 9,178 nm and spends roughly 10.3 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, 26% 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 THLCH start at $2,207 for a 20GP and $3,362 for a 40GP ($2,919 for a 40HC). These are spot market prices from carriers that sail the lane; your quote will also include terminal handling, documentation and any bunker surcharge. At Laem Chabang (THLCH) 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, Laem Chabang is the 43rd shortest. Closer destinations include Vancouver (9,064 nm), Seattle (9,042 nm) and Ho Chi Minh City (9,010 nm).