How Long Does Sea Freight Shipping from Vietnam to India Take?

Nowadays, with continuously growing consumer demand, India has become a highly potential import market. Therefore, many Vietnamese businesses are gradually expanding their export activities to India. To accommodate large cargo volumes, ocean freight has become the preferred transportation mode for many companies. So, how is the export process to India carried out, and how long does sea freight shipping take? Let’s explore through the article below!

1. Ocean Freight Transit Time from Vietnam to India

The transit time for shipping goods by sea from Vietnam to India depends on the destination port, as each port has different lead times. From Vietnam, cargo departing from Ho Chi Minh City generally has a shorter transit time compared to shipments from northern provinces. Below are the detailed transit times for exports from Vietnam to India:

1.1 Kolkata Port

Kolkata Port is the oldest riverine port in India. It mainly handles cargo from Australia and Southeast Asian countries. It is also the port with the shortest transit time from Vietnam. Accordingly, the ocean freight transit time from Ho Chi Minh City to Kolkata Port is 11 days, and 13 days when departing from Hai Phong.

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The ocean freight transit time from Vietnam to Kolkata Port is the shortest among all destination ports

1.2 Chennai Port

Chennai Port is the largest port in the Bay of Bengal and the second largest in India. Every year, Chennai Port handles an enormous cargo volume (over 51.88 million tons) from all over the world. The sea freight transit time from Ho Chi Minh City to Chennai Port is 12 days. Cargo departing from Hai Phong will take longer (18 days).

1.3 Mundra Port

Mundra Port is known as one of the largest private ports in India, featuring extensive infrastructure and a high frequency of import cargo handling. The port has 10 dry cargo berths, 6 RO-RO (Roll-on/Roll-off) berths, 3 liquid cargo berths, and 3 mechanized import cargo berths. Thanks to this scale, Mundra Port can handle over 200 million tons of cargo annually with high efficiency. From Ho Chi Minh City, it takes approximately 13 days for cargo to arrive at Mundra Port, while shipments from Hai Phong take around 22 days.

1.4 Visakhapatnam Port

Visakhapatnam Port is located between Chennai and Kolkata ports. It features a large warehousing and storage area. The total covered warehouse area is 62,398m², while the open storage yard exceeds 1,553,168m². Thanks to its substantial capacity, the port can handle up to 65.3 million tons of cargo annually. Cargo from Vietnam requires 14 days to reach Visakhapatnam Port from Ho Chi Minh City and 22 days from Hai Phong.

1.5 Mumbai Port

Mumbai Port is the largest seaport in India and plays a vital role in the country’s economic and trade development. Major import commodities at Mumbai Port include petroleum, mineral oils, leather, cotton textiles, liquid chemicals, and machinery equipment. The port features 63 berths, 5 piers, and has a handling capacity of approximately 62.82 million tons per year. Accordingly, the sea freight transit time from Vietnam to Mumbai Port is around 15–19 days.

1.6 Nhava Sheva Port

Nhava Sheva Port is the primary container handling port in India. Located only 30km from Mumbai, Nhava Sheva serves as a “satellite port” supporting Mumbai’s maritime traffic flow. Similar to Mumbai Port, the transit time to Nhava Sheva also ranges from 15–19 days.

1.7 Tuticorin Port

Tuticorin Port has 28 berths, 2 container terminals, and 3 berths dedicated to cargo such as coal and oil. In addition, the port has substantial storage capacity. The total outdoor storage yard area is 553,000m², warehouse space is 19,550m², and the transshipment warehouse is 18,000m². The transit time to Tuticorin Port from Hai Phong is relatively long (approximately 22 days). However, exports from Ho Chi Minh City only require 15 days.

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Tuticorin Port offers large warehousing and storage capacity

1.8 Cochin Port

Another major seaport located on the Arabian Sea is Cochin Port (also known as Kochi Port). Every year, this port handles more than 419,550 TEUs of cargo. The container shipping transit time from Ho Chi Minh City to Cochin is 17 days and 23 days from Hai Phong.

1.9 Pipavav Port

Pipavav Port is a private port owned by the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. It mainly receives cargo from the Far East, Europe, China, and the East Coast of the United States. This is also the port with the longest ocean freight transit time from Vietnam, taking approximately 18 days from Ho Chi Minh City and 21 days from Hai Phong.

>> See more: Ocean Freight Shipping to the United States

Overall, the ocean freight transit time from Vietnam to India generally ranges from 10–25 days depending on the destination port. Below is the summary table of sea freight transit times from Vietnam to India:

2. Advantages of Ocean Freight Shipping

Although ocean freight transit time is longer than air freight, sea transportation offers the following advantages:

• Ocean freight shipping is not limited by cargo weight, dimensions, or commodity categories. Moreover, the cargo loading and unloading process into warehouses is relatively convenient, helping save costs and fuel consumption.
• Sea routes are highly open and rarely experience cargo congestion. Since they are natural routes, there are no costs associated with maintenance, upgrades, or repairs. Therefore, the cost of ocean freight shipping from Vietnam to India is lower compared to other transportation modes.
• There are many ocean freight service providers in the market, enabling businesses to easily choose reputable export partners with competitive pricing.

Ocean freight shipping is widely chosen by export businesses thanks to its many advantages

3. Which Vietnamese Export Commodities Have Strong Potential in the Indian Market?

The product categories that have shown strong structure and growth in Vietnam–India export trade in recent years include electronics (mobile phones, computers, components, etc.), textiles and garments, wood products, seafood, rubber, plastic raw materials, iron and steel products, spices, and more. Among them, the following sectors stand out:

• Mobile phones and components: This is the largest export category to India, accounting for 26% of the total export value and reaching nearly USD 1.4 billion in turnover. According to 2020 statistics, the export share of this category increased 3.7 times compared to 2011. This is because India currently has massive mobile subscriber demand, ranking second in the world after China.
• Iron, steel, and steel products: The Indian government is currently accelerating infrastructure development, urbanization, bridges, roads, and rural development. Therefore, demand for iron and steel is extremely high, making it a highly potential export commodity.
• Rubber: India is currently the world’s second-largest rubber consumer. This is driven by the country’s highly developed automotive manufacturing industry, which requires large volumes of rubber for tire production.

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4. Overview of the Ocean Export Process from Vietnam to India

To ensure cargo is exported on schedule, having a clear ocean freight process is essential. However, executing the process quickly and correctly without risks can be quite challenging for businesses handling exports on their own, especially first-time exporters. By working with a freight forwarding company, the entire process becomes much easier, helping save maximum time and additional costs. Specifically:

Step 1: Discuss the export process and sign a service contract with the company.

Step 2: Search for shipping lines with competitive freight rates. Then make the booking and inform the exporter of the schedule and costs.

Step 3: Pack the cargo according to the correct specifications and deliver it to the export location.

Step 4: The logistics provider will handle procedures such as customs declaration, customs clearance, physical cargo inspection, preparation of the certificate of origin dossier, and India’s free sale certificate requirements.

Step 5: Issue the Bill of Lading (BL), send and receive shipping documents.

Step 6: Once the shipment arrives, the logistics provider will notify the exporter and arrange the delivery order.

Step 7: Complete import customs clearance procedures.

Step 8: The importer receives the cargo.

It can be seen that the role of logistics providers is highly important, making the export journey smoother and easier for businesses. However, along with the rapid growth of import-export activities, many logistics companies have entered the market. Therefore, before exporting, businesses should carefully choose reputable freight forwarding partners to avoid potential risks.

A prominent logistics provider for shipping cargo from Vietnam to India in today’s market is 3W Logistics. With extensive experience in ocean freight shipping, 3W Logistics has successfully handled and delivered many large sea freight shipments to India on time. The cargo categories handled by 3W Logistics are highly diverse, including agricultural products, seafood, consumer goods, garments, wood products, rubber, iron and steel, electronics, and more. In addition, thanks to its strong network with major shipping lines, 3W Logistics offers competitive freight rates and highly stable ocean freight transit times. In particular, when using 3W’s services, exporters do not need to worry too much about customs matters, as the company has a dedicated team of experienced specialists handling customs clearance services. Throughout the export process, 3W continuously updates shipment information for customer tracking. In case of unexpected issues, 3W’s extensive global agent network can quickly handle customer requests both in Vietnam and overseas.

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3W Logistics provides shipping solutions from Vietnam to China with competitive costs, fast customs support, and minimized operational risks

The above article has clearly outlined the ocean freight transit time from Vietnam to India, as well as related issues concerning Vietnam–India import-export activities. Hopefully, through this article, export businesses have gained more valuable insights to successfully execute many shipments to India in the future.