Neptune Atlas
Shanghai to Sydney by sea: 4,544 nautical miles
Shanghai to Sydney by sea is 4,544 nautical miles (8,415 km), with no canal on the way. The distance is the same in both directions, so this is also the distance from Sydney to Shanghai. Ships on this route often carry containers.
| Route | Nautical miles | Days at sea at | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 knots | 12 knots | 14 knots | 16 knots | ||
| Sea route | 4,544 | 18.9 | 15.8 | 13.5 | 11.8 |
Days are time under way at a steady speed. They leave out waiting, time in port and bad weather.
- Canals
- None
- Canal time
- None
- Inside emission areas
- 0 nm
- Straight line
- 4,254 nm
Emission control areas
None of this route is inside an emission control area (ECA). An ECA is a sea area where a ship must burn fuel with no more than 0.10 per cent sulphur, or clean its exhaust. Either costs more than sailing on ordinary fuel.
The two ports
- Shanghai, China. UN/LOCODE CNSHA, at 31.23 N, 121.47 E.
- Sydney, Australia. UN/LOCODE AUSYD, at 33.85 S, 151.20 E.
A UN/LOCODE is the United Nations code for a port. The straight line above is the great circle, the shortest line over the globe, which crosses land.
How this was worked out
Computed on 13 October 2026 by the sea router behind the Neptune Atlas voyage estimator. It searches a grid of navigable water built from public sea depth data, so the track goes round headlands and through straits. No draft limit was set and no area was avoided. Distance tables differ by a few per cent, because each one picks its own point for a port and its own track through straits. Use it for planning, not in place of a chart.
Open this route in the free calculator Change the speed, set a sea margin or close a canal. No account is needed.
Related routes
Other routes at Shanghai
- New Orleans to Shanghai9,984 nm
- Shanghai to Jebel Ali5,757 nm
- Shanghai to Los Angeles5,726 nm
- Shanghai to New York10,608 nm
- Shanghai to Piraeus7,912 nm
- Shanghai to Rotterdam10,661 nm
- Shanghai to Singapore2,195 nm
Guides that go with this route
- Bunkers and fuel grades: what a ship burns on a passage like this one.
- Laytime and demurrage: the time allowed in port once the ship arrives.