Transpacific (North Pacific)
No canal or Red Sea passage, but a North Pacific crossing where winter storms have collapsed container stacks.
North America · sea freight from Dalian
Shipping from Dalian to Roberts Bank
Dalian to Roberts Bank
Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Sea of Japan · Tsugaru Strait · North Pacific · Strait of Juan de Fuca
- DalianChina origin
- Yellow Sea
- Korea Strait
- Sea of Japan
- Tsugaru Strait
- North Pacific
- Strait of Juan de Fuca
- Roberts BankCanada
Lithium batteries for Roberts Bank go from Liaoning through Dalian's Dayaowan terminals. On the way they face the open North Pacific, where weather is the main risk, and they arrive at the port of Roberts Bank.
Canadian clearance depends on eManifest data filed before loading and on the importer's CARM set-up. This page sets out 6 points specific to this route, how Anxin handles each one and which documents to prepare.
What we need to start
- Winter ice & spring fog
- Dalian Dayaowan export
- Bilingual labels
- eManifest cut-off
- CARM account
Route profile
The Dalian → Roberts Bank route in brief
Canada
Container data due 24 hours before loading, CARM security for release before payment, and a road leg that accepts IMDG papers under Canadian conditions.
Where this route gets difficult
6 pain points from Dalian to Roberts Bank
In the order the cargo meets them: at the loading port, at sea, at Roberts Bank and at customs in Canada.
- Origin port
Sea fog off Dalian, April to July
Sea fog is one of the main marine hazards of the Yellow and Bohai Seas according to the China Meteorological Administration, concentrated between April and July and with a serious effect on shipping. A vessel held at anchor by fog can arrive late enough to push a box beyond the sailing its documents name.
What Anxin does: In the fog season we avoid tight stuffing-to-cut-off gaps and keep the filing data ready to amend if the vessel changes.
- Origin port
Fewer battery sailings from Dalian under JT/T 1543
Dalian's battery flow is modest: Dalian MSA recorded 885 TEU of lithium battery exports in the first four months of 2025, and Liaoning's first export under JT/T 1543 left Dayaowan on 4 May 2025. Carriers should refuse batteries that fail JT/T 1543, and a thin flow leaves fewer alternative sailings when a booking is turned down.
What Anxin does: We check JT/T 1543 conformity evidence with the manufacturer before booking and confirm the carrier's acceptance of the UN numbers in writing.
- Sea corridor
No chokepoint, but North Pacific storms
The drawn corridor from Dalian crosses the North Pacific, with no canal and no Red Sea exposure. Weather is the risk instead. In November 2020 the ONE Apus, sailing from Yantian to Long Beach, suffered a stack collapse in a storm about 1,600 nautical miles north-west of Hawaii; its owners reported that more than 1,900 containers could be lost or damaged, including up to 40 hazmat boxes.
What Anxin does: For winter sailings especially, we review blocking and bracing on stuffing photos against the CINS points before sealing, and make sure the DG declaration is complete, so a damaged box can be identified and handled correctly.
- Import country
BC producers need an EPR plan by December 2026
Battery-containing products, portable power stations and replacement batteries sold in British Columbia fall under a new EPR category: plans are due by 15 December 2026 and programs must operate by 1 October 2027. For goods landed at Roberts Bank, whoever counts as the producer has to be ready.
What Anxin does: For goods sold in British Columbia after landing at Roberts Bank, we flag the 2026 plan deadline to the importer so the brand owner's EPR membership is settled before the program starts.
- Import country
Vancouver Fraser Port Authority DG acceptance via the Pacific Gateway Portal
Dangerous goods moving within the Port of Vancouver, which includes Roberts Bank, need pre-notification to the port authority and other agencies, and acceptance applications are made on the Pacific Gateway Portal. Late or inconsistent DG data holds up that step.
What Anxin does: We give the carrier and its agent the complete DG data for Roberts Bank early enough for the port authority's acceptance process, and pass the same data to the consignee's trucker.
- Import country
Incidents must be reported within two days
Under s. 14 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, an importer that learns of a health or safety incident involving a consumer product must tell Health Canada and its supplier within two days, and file a written report within ten. For battery products sold in Canada, the Chinese supplier's test and batch data are needed quickly.
What Anxin does: We make sure the importer has the manufacturer's contact, batch identifiers and test reports on file with each shipment, so an incident report can be made on time.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Dalian → Roberts Bank
These documents come from the shipper, the manufacturer and the importer. Anxin checks them against each other; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.
Before loading in Dalian
- JT/T 1543 conformity evidence from the manufacturer
- Transport-condition classification report where applicable
- Load plan showing even weight distribution (no more than 60% of the cargo weight in either half of the container length)
- Bilingual (English/French) retail labelling checked on artwork
- Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report
Carrier and voyage
- Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
- UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
- Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)
At the Canada end
- Importer's CARM account and release-prior-to-payment security confirmed
- English DG documents with a 24-hour number for the Canadian road leg
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Dalian filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for Canada before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Roberts Bank.
Carriers we book with
Our booking panel; availability on this lane and acceptance of the declared UN numbers are confirmed for each booking. It does not mean that a listed carrier runs a direct service on this route. Carrier choice depends on the trade lane, cargo classification and each carrier's dangerous-goods acceptance at booking. The final carrier is confirmed on the booking.
Risk & mitigation
What could go wrong from Dalian to Roberts Bank, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fog hold delays the vessel; filings need amending | Yellow Sea, Apr–Jul | Amendment-ready filing data | Anxin with the declarant |
| Stack collapse or cargo shift in a North Pacific storm | Mid-Pacific | Blocking and bracing checked before sealing; complete DG data for incident response | Packing site / carrier, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Common questions on the Dalian → Roberts Bank route
Yes. TDG s. 9.3 allows IMDG documentation and marks for an international consignment going to or from a port, provided the document is legible in English or French and carries a 24-hour number.
Weather is the main risk on this crossing: NOAA recorded hurricane-force North Pacific storms from October to April, most often in December. We tighten the packing checks for those sailings.
Dayaowan MSA reported in 2024 that omissions and misdeclarations of lithium battery cargo were frequent because the rules are complex, and it uses AI document comparison. Consistent data across the declaration, SDS and packing documents is the main defence.
References
Where these points come from
- 2025 Recycling Regulation amendments, explanatory notes: electronic, electrical and battery-containing product category (Government of British Columbia)
- Customs Notice 25-22: End of Release Prior to Payment (RPP) transition period (Canada Border Services Agency)
- Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, section 14 (duties in the event of an incident) (Justice Laws Website)
- Guide to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations (Competition Bureau Canada)
- TDG Regulations Part 9, section 9.3: transporting dangerous goods to or from a vessel, a port facility or a marine terminal (Transport Canada)
- Port Information Guide, section 4.9 Dangerous goods, and Pacific Gateway Portal (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)
- Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
- Container ship ONE Apus; North Pacific Ocean (incident record) (NOAA IncidentNews)
- Sea fog in the Yellow and Bohai Seas (fog season mainly April–July) (China Meteorological Administration (from Guangming Daily))
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Dalian
- 5ImportClearance at Roberts Bank
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Dalian → Roberts Bank before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Dalian · Canada ports
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