Vancouver to Shanghai shipping route.

The shipping route from Vancouver, Canada to Shanghai, China covers 5,165 nautical miles port to port, on a direct course. On a globe the two ports sit 9,009 km apart, so the ship sails 1.06 times the straight line distance. 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 15.4 days at sea. Slow steaming at 12 knots stretches it to 17.9 days, while 18 knots brings it down to 12.0. Liner schedules on the lane quote 11 to 56 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 139 sailings by 11 carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, HMM and Hapag-Lloyd).

570 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 CAVAN to CNSHA start at $4,599 for a 20GP and $6,480 for a 40GP ($6,540 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 Shanghai (CNSHA) 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, Shanghai is the 11th shortest. Closer destinations include Incheon (5,132 nm), Callao (4,890 nm) and Busan (4,696 nm).