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Europe · sea freight from Dalian

Shipping from Dalian to Leixoes

Dalian to Leixoes

Yellow Sea · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Sicily Channel · Strait of Gibraltar

Sea corridor illustration: Dalian to Leixoes, Portugal Simplified map with a curved corridor from Dalian via Yellow Sea, Taiwan Strait, Malacca Strait, Indian Ocean, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Sicily Channel, Strait of Gibraltar to Leixoes. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIASOUTHEAST ASIAAFRICAEUROPEINDIAN OCEAN Taiwan StraitSingapore / MalaccaBab-el-MandebSuez CanalGibraltar DalianCHINA ORIGIN LeixoesPORTUGAL DalianBOHAI SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. DalianChina origin
  2. Yellow Sea
  3. Taiwan Strait
  4. Malacca Strait
  5. Indian Ocean
  6. Bab-el-Mandeb
  7. Suez Canal
  8. Sicily Channel
  9. Strait of Gibraltar
  10. LeixoesPortugal
Geographic corridor illustration only, not a vessel track, port-call list or sailing schedule. The loading terminal, carrier, transshipment and dates are confirmed per shipment.

Lithium batteries for Leixoes go out of Dalian, the north-east's gateway on the Yellow Sea. On the way they face a Suez corridor that Mediterranean services are using again more than any other Asia–Europe lane, and they arrive at the port of Leixoes.

Portugal registers battery producers with APA on SILiAmb. This page sets out 5 points specific to this route, how Anxin handles each one and which documents to prepare.

What we need to start

  • Dalian Dayaowan export
  • Winter ice & spring fog
  • EU declaration of conformity
  • SILiAmb / APA registration
  • Portuguese-language safety information
Ask about this route Portugal ports from Dalian

Route profile

How Dalian → Leixoes differs from other lanes

Origin port

Dalian (Dayaowan)

North-east China's battery gateway at Dayaowan, with a small but growing lithium export flow, a local MSA that has named misdeclaration as its main problem, and both winter ice and spring fog.

Import country

Portugal

An annual SILiAmb declaration, a licensed management entity or individual system, and EU importer duties from the declaration of conformity to the importer's address on the battery.

Blue harbour crane booms above a quay building in Dalian harbour
A container ship under way off the Guatemalan coast

Where this route gets difficult

What to watch between Dalian and Leixoes: 5 points

In the order the cargo meets them: at the loading port, at sea, at Leixoes and at customs in Portugal.

  1. Origin port

    Ice in the northern Yellow Sea from January

    Sea ice forms every winter in the Bohai Sea and northern Yellow Sea. In winter 2021/22 China's marine forecast centre expected floating ice about 15 nautical miles out in the northern Yellow Sea, where Dalian's Dayaowan lies, and about 60 in Liaodong Bay, peaking from mid-January to mid-February.

    What Anxin does: For January–February sailings from Dalian we allow extra time between stuffing and the DG cut-off and reconfirm the vessel schedule the week before loading.

  2. Sea corridor

    The inbound leg's emissions now count under EU ETS

    Because Leixoes is an EU port, container ships of 5,000 GT or more calling there fall under the EU Emissions Trading System, which covers half the emissions of the voyage from China. Lines surrendered allowances for 70% of those emissions in 2025 and must cover 100% from 2027, a cost that can reach shippers as a surcharge.

    What Anxin does: We ask for the emissions surcharge to be shown as its own line in the quote, with the basis the carrier uses, so that successive quotes can be compared like for like.

  3. Import country

    The truck leg out of Leixoes runs under ADR

    Road delivery from Leixoes is an ADR movement, because the EU applies ADR to domestic journeys through Directive 2008/68/EC. For UN 3480 that means class 9, transport category 2 and tunnel code (E), which restricts the route through category E tunnels; batteries found damaged at unloading move to special provision 376 packing (P908 or P911).

    What Anxin does: We give the Portugal haulier the same UN number, class and package details that appear on the sea dangerous goods declaration, so the ADR transport document matches the container paperwork from Dalian.

  4. Import country

    SILiAmb registration with APA and a licensed entity

    Anyone placing batteries on the Portuguese market, importers included, registers with the Portuguese Environment Agency on SILiAmb and files an annual declaration by 31 March, counting batteries built into other products. Responsibility is met through a licensed management entity such as Electrão, or an individual system authorised by APA.

    What Anxin does: We ask the Portuguese importer for its APA registration and management entity before booking, and list battery weights separately so its declaration is easy.

  5. Import country

    Battery label from August 2026, QR code from February 2027

    Two marking dates fall into current shipping plans for Portugal: the general label from 18 August 2026 and the QR code from 18 February 2027, which for EV, LMT and larger industrial batteries has to open the battery passport.

    What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Portugal importer to confirm the battery category and whether the label and QR-code elements are already on the goods, and compare carton photos with that answer.

Locator map of Leixoes, PortugalLeixoes
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (41.18°N, 8.68°W).
Container ship alongside blue gantry cranes at the Juan Carlos I dock, Algeciras

Documents & compliance

Documents to line up for Dalian → Leixoes

Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.

At the Dalian end

  • Annex V safety documentation confirmed for stationary storage systems
  • Substance declaration covering mercury, cadmium and lead limits
  • Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report
  • Customs packaging use-appraisal result for the dangerous goods packaging (with the maker's performance appraisal)
  • Container packing certificate signed by a certified packing inspector after supervised stuffing

For the shipping line

  • Routing (Red Sea or Cape) and any war-risk surcharge stated on the booking
  • Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)
  • Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards

For the importer in Portugal

  • APA (SILiAmb) registration and management entity of the Portuguese producer
  • Haulier in Portugal briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
  • Instructions and safety information in the language Portugal requires
An electric scooter parked by a wall
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 Portugal before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Leixoes.

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

Risks on this route and who deals with them

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Ice delays berthing in mid-winterNorthern Yellow Sea, Jan–FebExtra time before cut-off; schedule reconfirmedCarrier, monitored by Anxin
Emissions surcharge changes between quote and sailingEU port callSurcharge shown as a separate lineCarrier, checked by Anxin
Importer not registered on SILiAmbImporter in PortugalRegistration confirmed before bookingImporter
Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026Importer in PortugalLabel status confirmed before bookingManufacturer / importer

Questions

Questions about shipping from Dalian to Leixoes

24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Leixoes. Without it carriers do not load the box, and a filing without an EORI number is rejected.

Often: in September 2026, 57% of Asia–Mediterranean services used the Red Sea routing. Bab el-Mandeb was rated a SUBSTANTIAL threat by the JMIC on 24 September 2026, so we confirm each service's routing before booking.

Sea ice forms every winter in the northern Yellow Sea; in 2021/22 it was forecast to reach about 15 nautical miles out there, peaking mid-January to mid-February. We plan extra time for those weeks.

References

Where these points come from

  1. Registo de Produtores de Produtos (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente)
  2. Registo de Produtores: Baterias (apresentação, 30.01.2026) (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente)
  3. Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
  4. JMIC Update 099 to Advisory Note (Joint Maritime Information Center (via UKMTO))
  5. Reducing emissions from the shipping sector (European Commission (DG Climate Action))
  6. Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources News))
  7. Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))

Next step

From enquiry to import

  1. 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
  2. 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
  3. 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
  4. 4HandoverAt Dalian
  5. 5ImportClearance at Leixoes
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Dalian → Leixoes

Origin and destination are filled in; add the cargo facts you have.

Sending this form starts a review; it does not confirm carriage. Full enquiry form

After you send it

We check carrier acceptance for Dalian → Leixoes before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Dalian · Portugal ports

Workers loading cartons from pallets by hand in a warehouse

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