Valencia to Qingdao shipping route.

Ships leaving Valencia for Qingdao head north east and cover a sea distance of 9,212 nautical miles (17,061 km), via Suez Canal. The straight line between the ports is 9,655 km; coastlines and shipping lanes add the rest. On the way the vessel passes Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb and Strait of Malacca, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

Pure steaming time is 27.4 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 32.0 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 21.3. Liner schedules on the lane quote 26 to 95 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 70 sailings by 9 carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk).

Red Sea security changes the sea distance on this lane. A ship sent via Panama Canal sails 13,441 nm instead of 9,212 nm and spends roughly 12.6 extra days at sea. Ask your forwarder which routing the carrier uses: the booking price and the arrival date both depend on it.

1,668 nm of the route, 18% of it, lies inside 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 ESVLC to CNTAO start at $2,925 for a 20GP and $4,000 for a 40GP ($3,835 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 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 Valencia in this directory, Qingdao is the 56th shortest. Closer destinations include Vancouver (8,984 nm), Seattle (8,962 nm) and Shanghai (8,948 nm).