Seattle to Qingdao shipping route.

Seattle to Qingdao is a 5,156 nautical mile shipping route on a direct course, heading north west from the United States to China. That is 9,548 km of water against 8,823 km as the crow flies. No canals or major straits on this leg, the ship stays close to the direct line.

Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 15.3 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 17.9 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 11.9. Liner schedules on the lane quote 13 to 28 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 50 sailings by 5 carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, MSC and OOCL).

548 nm of the route, 11% of it, lies inside North American 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 USSEA to CNTAO start at $5,791 for a 20GP and $8,046 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 Qingdao (CNTAO) 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 64 port to port routes from Seattle in this directory, Qingdao is the 12th shortest. Closer destinations include Shanghai (5,144 nm), Incheon (5,110 nm) and Callao (4,868 nm).