Crewboard now has a Tools section. It is a free set of calculators for seafarers. The tools run in your browser. They do not keep what you type. The main new tool is port to port distances.
Port to port distances
The tool estimates the sea distance between about 3,900 ports. Distances are in nautical miles (nm). One nautical mile is the usual unit for sea distance. You can allow or avoid canals and passages. These include the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Kiel Canal and the Red Sea via Bab-el-Mandeb.
It also shows a route map. You can enter a speed in knots. The tool then shows days at sea and an estimated time of arrival (ETA). You can add hours for canals, waiting or bunkering. The site says results are for estimates and training, not for official passage planning.
Example routes from the tool
With the usual canal options left on, the tool returned these distances on 6 November 2026:
Rotterdam–Singapore: about 8,427 nm, via Dover, Gibraltar, Suez, Bab-el-Mandeb and Malacca. At 14 knots that is about 25.1 days of steaming.
Shanghai–Rotterdam: about 10,656 nm on the same canal route. At 14 knots that is about 31.7 days.
Houston–Rotterdam: about 5,056 nm. At 14 knots that is about 15.0 days.
Singapore–Fujairah: about 3,385 nm via Malacca. At 14 knots that is about 10.1 days.
If you turn Suez and the Red Sea off, Rotterdam–Singapore rises to about 11,877 nm. Shanghai–Rotterdam then goes the long way via Panama, about 13,654 nm.
Other tools on the page
The Tools page groups calculators for navigation, watchkeeping, seamanship, the engine room, pay and quick reference. Examples include compass error and fuel consumption and endurance.
Other tools cover CPA and TCPA (closest point of approach) and bunker quantity. There are also squat and under-keel clearance, and MLC hours of rest.
There is also a pay and contract dates calculator, plus signal flags and a unit converter. Signed-in users can star favourites and download a PDF of a result. You can use the calculators without signing in.
What it means for crews
Use port-to-port distance when you plan a joining or signing-off. Check how many steaming days a voyage may take at a given speed.
Compare routes with and without Suez or Panama when news or company orders change the usual path.
Cross-check fuel days and rest hours with the other tools before a long passage.
For jobs and company contacts, see external vacancies. For official help lines and certificate checks, see useful links.
Earlier Crewboard updates, such as training and medical centres and certificate reminders, are still on the news page.
Cover photo: A container ship on open water under a cloudy sky, with a yellow buoy in the foreground. Illustrative photo. Photo: Jernej Furman/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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