Seattle to Yokohama shipping route.

Seattle to Yokohama is a 4,300 nautical mile shipping route on a direct course, heading north west from the United States to Japan. That is 7,963 km of water against 7,718 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 12.8 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 14.9 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 10.0. Container transit time on a liner service is longer than the steaming time: ships call at other ports on the rotation, and cargo may transship at a hub. Add terminal time at Seattle and Yokohama to plan the full ocean transit time.

548 nm of the route, 13% 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.

Container freight rates on Seattle to Yokohama move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Yokohama (JPYOK) carriers give about 8 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, Yokohama is the 5th shortest. Closer destinations include Balboa (4,188 nm), Manzanillo (2,498 nm) and Los Angeles (1,214 nm).