Shipping schedules
Sailing schedules and transit times from the UK.
Typical departure frequency and port-to-port transit by region, plus the cut-off deadlines that decide whether your cargo makes this week's vessel or next week's.
Sailing schedule finder, shipping lines by region
Pick a region to see the carriers we book, the UK load port, the next sample departure dates and the documentation closing date for each service.
Short-sea tonnage runs several times a week, so most Northern European vehicle and container bookings load within seven days of instruction.
Main ports: Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Gothenburg, Gdansk · Main airports: Amsterdam AMS, Frankfurt FRA, Copenhagen CPH
DFDS Seaways
RORO- UK load port
- Immingham / Felixstowe
- Discharge ports
- Rotterdam, Gothenburg, Esbjerg
- Frequency
- 3 to 4 weekly
- Transit
- 1 to 3 days
Stena Line
RORO- UK load port
- Harwich / Killingholme
- Discharge ports
- Hoek van Holland, Rotterdam
- Frequency
- Daily
- Transit
- 1 to 2 days
MSC
CONTAINER- UK load port
- Felixstowe / London Gateway
- Discharge ports
- Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Gdansk
- Frequency
- 2 to 3 weekly
- Transit
- 3 to 7 days
IAG Cargo
AIR- UK load port
- London Heathrow
- Discharge ports
- Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Copenhagen
- Frequency
- Daily
- Transit
- 1 to 2 days
Indicative sample dates only, based on each service's usual weekly pattern — not live carrier schedules. Sailings can change without notice; confirm the current vessel and cut-off with our freight desk before booking.
Cut-offs and receiving deadlines
- Container documentation cut-off: usually 3 working days before sailing
- Container gate-in (VGM and customs cleared): 2 to 4 days before sailing
- RoRo vehicle receiving: 3 to 7 days before vessel arrival
- LCL groupage warehouse closing: 4 to 6 days before sailing
- Air freight cut-off: 6 to 12 hours before departure, longer for dangerous goods
Planning around peak season
Space tightens from late September through November as retail stock moves for Christmas, and again in the fortnight before Chinese New Year. Vehicle decks fill fastest in spring and early summer. If your shipment must arrive by a fixed date in those windows, book three to four weeks earlier than you otherwise would — rolled cargo is the single most common cause of a missed deadline.
UK loading ports
Felixstowe · Southampton · London Gateway · Tilbury · Liverpool · Immingham · Teesport · Grangemouth · Sheerness · Bristol (Portbury)
UK departure airports
London Heathrow (LHR) · London Gatwick (LGW) · London Stansted (STN) · East Midlands (EMA) · Manchester (MAN) · Birmingham (BHX) · Glasgow (GLA) · Edinburgh (EDI)
