Explore 1225 port-to-port sea distances covering the 50 most connected container ports worldwide. Every distance is measured along real commercial shipping lanes and comes with a route map, estimated transit times and the chokepoints crossed.
Distances between the busiest container ports, ranked by the number of carriers serving both ends.
| Route | Distance |
|---|---|
| Shanghai Hamburg | 10,842 nm |
| Shanghai Antwerpen | 10,569 nm |
| Shanghai Qingdao | 410 nm |
| Hamburg Antwerpen | 362 nm |
| Shanghai Ningbo | 151 nm |
| Hamburg Qingdao | 11,106 nm |
| Antwerpen Qingdao | 10,834 nm |
| Hamburg Ningbo | 10,728 nm |
| Antwerpen Ningbo | 10,456 nm |
| Shanghai Xiamen | 589 nm |
| Qingdao Ningbo | 463 nm |
| Shanghai Xingang | 701 nm |
| Shanghai Yantian | 844 nm |
| Hamburg Xiamen | 10,292 nm |
| Shanghai Brisbane | 4,212 nm |
| Shanghai Bremerhaven | 10,796 nm |
| Hamburg Xingang | 11,397 nm |
| Antwerpen Xiamen | 10,020 nm |
| Hamburg Yantian | 10,088 nm |
| Antwerpen Xingang | 11,124 nm |
Canals and straits concentrate most of global container traffic. Explore each chokepoint, its key facts and the routes that depend on it.
The world’s main container corridors: routes, distances, transit times and the chokepoints they depend on.
Pick an origin port to see the sea distance to every other covered port.
Distances are computed with searoute, an open-source routing engine that follows real commercial shipping lanes, instead of a simple straight-line (great-circle) measure. This mirrors the path vessels actually sail, including canals and straits.
One nautical mile equals 1.852 kilometers. Maritime distances are expressed in nautical miles because one nautical mile corresponds to one minute of latitude, which makes navigation calculations easier.
Divide the distance in nautical miles by the vessel speed in knots to get hours at sea. Container ships typically cruise at 14 to 18 knots; each route page includes a ready-made speed table plus port and chokepoint details.
Safecube gives you door-to-door visibility on container shipments, with live vessel positions and predictive ETAs on every trade lane.