Ports & Routes
Global Port Intelligence
| Path | Records | Actual median | P25–P75 range | TS dwell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct | 188 | 30.9d | 29.9–31.9 d | — |
All values are actuals from tracked container records. Paths flagged low n have fewer than 20 records and should be read as directional.
The median transit time is 30.9 days. This is based on 174 containers tracked end-to-end on this exact direct path.
Most containers arrive within 29.9–31.9 days (P25–P75 of 188 tracked records on this lane). Plan with this range, not a single number.
The shipping distance from Cape Town to Rotterdam is approximately 6,193 nautical miles (11,469 km).
MSC line operates direct service on this lane in our tracked dataset.
No transshipment paths are present in the tracked dataset for this lane — containers observed move directly from Cape Town to Rotterdam.
Approximately 38.9 days door-to-door. The median gate-in dwell at Cape Town is 5.0 days. Vessel sail time from Cape Town to Rotterdam is 30.9 days. The median gate-out dwell at Rotterdam is 2.95 days.
Container shipping from Cape Town to Rotterdam spans approximately 6,193 nautical miles, equivalent to 11,469 kilometres of sea route. Our tracked dataset for this lane includes 188 records across qualifying paths. Of those, 174 containers were tracked end-to-end on the direct path (literally booked from Cape Town to Rotterdam with no transshipment). The median sail time on direct service is 30.9 days. Most shipments arrive within 29.9 to 31.9 days, the P25–P75 range covering the middle half of observed transits.
The typical door-to-door figure is 38.9 days. Median gate-in dwell at Cape Town is 5.0 days, representing the time a container spends at the origin terminal between arrival at the gate and loading onto the vessel. Vessel sail time from Cape Town to Rotterdam is 30.9 days. Median gate-out dwell at Rotterdam is 2.95 days, covering discharge and the time before pickup at the destination terminal.
Direct service — meaning no transshipment between origin and destination — is the dominant routing on this corridor. It is supported by 188 leg-level observations on the direct segment. Of those, 174 were containers literally booked direct from Cape Town to Rotterdam and tracked end-to-end on this exact path. MSC operates the dominant tracked direct service. Containers carried by Maersk also traversed this corridor without an intermediate transshipment, generally as sub-segments of longer journeys. On the direct segment, the median sail time is 30.9 days, and the P25–P75 range runs from 29.9 to 31.9 days.
For planning purposes, treat the 29.9 to 31.9 day P25–P75 range as the realistic arrival window for direct service. About half of all observed direct shipments fell within that 2.0-day spread. When committing door-to-door dates to consignees, account for an additional 5.0 days of gate-in dwell at Cape Town and 2.95 days of gate-out dwell at Rotterdam on top of the chosen sail time.