Port-to-port sea distance

Houston to Callao distance

The sea distance from Houston (United States) to Callao (Peru) is about 2,937 nautical miles (5,440 km), via the Panama Canal. At 12 knots that is about 10 days 5 hours at sea.

Distance

2,937 nm

5,440 km

Sea days @ 12 kn

10.2

10 days 5 hours

ECA miles

491 nm

17% of the route

Canals & straits

Panama Canal

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Sea days by speed

Speed	One way	Round voyage
10 knots	12.2 days	24.5 days
11 knots	11.1 days	22.3 days
12 knots	10.2 days	20.4 days
13 knots	9.4 days	18.8 days
14 knots	8.7 days	17.5 days
15 knots	8.2 days	16.3 days

Steaming time only, with no allowance for weather, canal waiting or port time. The round voyage assumes the ship ballasts back on the same route.

Routes compared

Shortest route

2,937 nm

10.2 days at 12 kn · Panama Canal · 491 nm in ECA

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Avoiding the Panama Canal

10,278 nm+7,340 nm

35.7 days at 12 kn · Strait of Magellan · 1,068 nm in ECA

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The Panama Canal's Neopanamax locks take a maximum draft of 15.2 m, so VLCCs and laden Suezmaxes cannot use it. Without Panama the voyage is 10,278 nm, 7,340 nm (about 25.5 days at 12 knots) longer.

Voyage estimates by ship size

About this trade

US Gulf clean products. Diesel and gasoline exports from the Texas and Louisiana refining belt to Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, the core MR trade in the Atlantic.

Typical ship sizes: MR, LR1
Related benchmark routes: TC14 (USG–UKC MR), TC21 (USG–Caribbean MR)

Questions

How far is Houston from Callao by sea?

The sea distance from Houston to Callao is about 2,937 nautical miles (5,440 km), via the Panama Canal.

How long does a tanker take to sail from Houston to Callao?

About 10 days 5 hours at 12 knots, or 8.7 days at 14 knots. That is steaming time only; add time for port calls, canal transits and weather.

Which canals and straits does the Houston–Callao route pass?

The shortest route passes the Panama Canal. Alternative routings are listed above for ships that cannot or will not use them.

How much of the voyage is inside an Emission Control Area?

About 491 nm, or 17% of the voyage, is inside an ECA, where ships must burn 0.10% sulphur fuel or use a scrubber.

Terms on this page

Distances are calculated by Vessbook on a modelled global shipping-lane network for a tanker at 12 m draft, from berth area to berth area.