Vancouver to Algeciras shipping route.

The shipping route from Vancouver, Canada to Algeciras, Spain covers 8,600 nautical miles port to port, via Panama Canal. On a globe the two ports sit 8,708 km apart, so the ship sails 1.83 times the straight line distance. On the way the vessel passes Strait of Gibraltar and Panama Canal, so canal transit fees and waiting time at the canal are part of every voyage.

Shipping time depends on speed. At 14 knots, a common container ship service speed, the passage takes 25.6 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 29.9 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 19.9. 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 Vancouver and Algeciras to plan the full ocean transit time.

The next option is via Strait of Magellan, 13,514 nautical miles, 4,914 nm longer than the main route. Carriers pick it when Strait of Gibraltar is congested or closed.

1,468 nm of the route, 17% of it, lies inside North American ECA, US Caribbean 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.

Container freight rates on Vancouver to Algeciras move with fuel prices, ship capacity and the season. Compare several carriers before booking: the cheapest sailing is often the slowest one. At Algeciras (ESALG) 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 Vancouver in this directory, Algeciras is the 34th shortest. Closer destinations include Montreal (7,543 nm), Tanjung Priok (7,504 nm) and Melbourne (7,475 nm).