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.
Europe · sea freight from Dalian
Shipping from Dalian to Olhão
Dalian to Olhão
Yellow Sea · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Sicily Channel · Strait of Gibraltar
- DalianChina origin
- Yellow Sea
- Taiwan Strait
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Sicily Channel
- Strait of Gibraltar
- OlhãoPortugal
From Dalian to Olhão, cargo moves through Dayaowan, crosses a Suez corridor that Mediterranean services are using again more than any other Asia–Europe lane, and is discharged at the port of Olhão.
On the Portuguese side, APA's SILiAmb register and the EU importer checks both apply. Below are 5 route-specific points to plan for, what we do about each, and the documents to have ready before booking.
What we need to start
- Winter ice & spring fog
- Dalian Dayaowan export
- Consignee EORI
- EU declaration of conformity
- SILiAmb / APA registration
Route profile
How Dalian → Olhão differs from other lanes
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.
Where this route gets difficult
What to watch between Dalian and Olhão: 5 points
They run from the Dalian terminal through the voyage to Olhão and the Portugal import file.
- Origin port
Misdeclaration is the problem Dalian's MSA names first
Dayaowan MSA reported in April 2024 that omissions and misdeclarations of lithium battery cargo were frequent because the rules are complex. Its answer was a dedicated desk and hotline, priority handling for EV batteries, and AI comparison of documents to cut down container openings: a comparison that flags any gap between the declaration and the paperwork behind it.
What Anxin does: We reconcile the UN number, classification, packing group, quantity and SDS across every document before filing, which is exactly what an automated comparison will test.
- Sea corridor
The round-Africa alternative
Services that avoid the Red Sea, 43% of the Mediterranean total, go round the Cape of Good Hope and re-enter through Gibraltar. SAMSA estimates that about 200 of the 576 containers lost at sea in 2024, 35% of the total, went overboard near the Cape.
What Anxin does: On Cape sailings we apply the CINS blocking and bracing checks strictly on stuffing photos before sealing.
- 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.
- Import country
CE marking and a declaration of conformity in the right language
Since 18 August 2024 a battery sold in the EU needs the CE marking and an EU declaration of conformity from its manufacturer. The declaration has to be available in the language Portugal requires, and the importer is the one who must check both before the goods are released for sale.
What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer in China for the declaration of conformity and a photo of the CE marking on the battery or its packaging before loading, and pass them to the Portugal importer. We check that the documents exist and match the goods; we do not assess conformity.
- 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.
Documents & compliance
What to have ready: Dalian to Olhão
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
- UN number, class, quantity and SDS reconciled across all documents before the Dalian filing
- 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
- 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)
For the carrier and the voyage
- Routing (Red Sea or Cape) and any war-risk surcharge stated on the booking
- Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
- Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
For the importer in Portugal
- APA (SILiAmb) registration and management entity of the Portuguese producer
- Instructions and safety information in the language Portugal requires
- Haulier in Portugal briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
Before you book
One consistent file
A document that is present but inconsistent holds a booking as surely as a missing one: the UN number, model name or carton count reads differently in the Dalian export filings, the carrier booking and the Portugal import papers. We compare all three before confirming space.
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
Risk table for Dalian → Olhão
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declaration flagged by document comparison; container opened | Dayaowan | Cross-document reconciliation before filing | Anxin with the declarant |
| Heavy weather off South Africa on a Cape sailing | Cape of Good Hope | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| Importer not registered on SILiAmb | Importer in Portugal | Registration confirmed before booking | Importer |
| Declaration of conformity missing or not in the required language | Importer in Portugal | Declaration and CE photo collected before loading | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
Dalian → Olhão: questions we are asked
It registers with APA on the SILiAmb platform, files an annual declaration by 31 March, and joins a licensed management entity or runs an APA-authorised individual system.
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.
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
Regulations and port sources cited
- Registo de Produtores de Produtos (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente)
- Registo de Produtores: Baterias (apresentação, 30.01.2026) (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (ELI) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
- JMIC Update 099 to Advisory Note (Joint Maritime Information Center (via UKMTO))
- Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Dalian
- 5ImportClearance at Olhão
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Dalian → Olhão before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
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