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Shipment Status & Support

North America · sea freight from Dalian

Shipping from Dalian to Grays Harbor

Dalian to Grays Harbor

Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Sea of Japan · Tsugaru Strait · North Pacific

Sea corridor illustration: Dalian to Grays Harbor, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Dalian via Yellow Sea, Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, Tsugaru Strait, North Pacific to Grays Harbor. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINA Korea StraitTsugaru StraitNorth Pacific DalianCHINA ORIGIN Grays HarborUNITED STATES DalianBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. DalianChina origin
  2. Yellow Sea
  3. Korea Strait
  4. Sea of Japan
  5. Tsugaru Strait
  6. North Pacific
  7. Grays HarborUnited States
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.

From Dalian to Grays Harbor, cargo moves out of Dalian, the north-east's gateway on the Yellow Sea, crosses a great-circle crossing of the North Pacific, and is discharged at the port of Grays Harbor.

The US side adds a 25% Section 301 duty line, forced-labour scrutiny of lithium supply chains and an ISF deadline that falls before loading. 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

  • Winter ice & spring fog
  • Dalian Dayaowan export
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer
  • Supply-chain tracing file
Ask about this route United States ports from Dalian

Route profile

The Dalian → Grays Harbor route in brief

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.

Sea corridor

Transpacific (North Pacific)

No canal or Red Sea passage, but a North Pacific crossing where winter storms have collapsed container stacks.

Blue harbour crane booms above a quay building in Dalian harbour
A loaded container ship on the horizon

Where this route gets difficult

What to watch between Dalian and Grays Harbor: 5 points

Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Grays Harbor and the United States market.

  1. 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.

  2. Sea corridor

    Hurricane-force winter storms, October to April

    NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center has recorded hurricane-force winds (64 knots or more) in mid-latitude North Pacific storms in every month from October to April, most often in December, with 15 to 23 such storms a season in its 2001–2004 study. These are not tropical systems, so they arrive outside typhoon season.

    What Anxin does: For October–April sailings we check blocking and bracing on stuffing photos before sealing and confirm the full DG data are on the manifest.

  3. Import country

    The ISF deadline falls before the box is loaded

    CBP must have the Importer Security Filing 24 hours before the container is laden in Dalian, and its liquidated damages guidelines provide for a claim for each late, inaccurate or incomplete filing. The stuffing location and consolidator can only be filled in once the container is packed, which leaves a short window.

    What Anxin does: We send the importer's ISF filer the stuffing location, consolidator and manufacturer details as soon as the container is packed in Dalian, ahead of the vessel's loading window.

  4. Import country

    SP188 packages need an extra US marking

    Small cells and batteries shipped under IMDG special provision 188 do not need a dangerous goods declaration at sea, but 49 CFR 171.25(b)(3) adds a US condition: each package of UN3480 or UN3090 must carry the 'FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT' marking or a Cargo Aircraft Only label, and so must packages of batteries with or in equipment above 5 kg net. Cartons printed for other markets often lack it.

    What Anxin does: When the shipper declares SP188 for a Grays Harbor booking, we check the carton photos for the US marking or CAO label before stuffing, not after discharge.

  5. Import country

    Unentered battery containers go to General Order after 15 days

    A container landed at Grays Harbor without a release permit may stay at the terminal only until the 15th calendar day. The carrier must then notify CBP and a bonded general order warehouse, which moves and stores the goods at the consignee's risk and expense (19 CFR 4.37). Not every general order warehouse can take Class 9 battery cargo, and where specialized storage is missing the port director decides where it goes.

    What Anxin does: We check with the importer's broker that the entry can be filed before arrival at Grays Harbor, and chase any missing invoice or HTS detail while the ship is still at sea.

Locator map of Grays Harbor, United StatesGrays Harbor
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (46.98°N, 123.95°W).
Container ship being unloaded under red gantry cranes in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

Checklist for Dalian → Grays Harbor

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

In Dalian, before the box is loaded

  • JT/T 1543 conformity evidence from the manufacturer
  • 'Made in China' marking on articles or containers checked on photos
  • 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

Carrier and voyage

  • Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
  • 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 United States

  • ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
  • Supply-chain tracing file for cells and lithium inputs, in case of a UFLPA request
  • CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
A shrink-wrapped lithium-ion battery pack for a small electric vehicle
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 United States 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

Risks on this route and who deals with them

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Heavy-weather damage in a winter stormNorth Pacific, Oct–AprCINS stuffing checksPacking site, checked by Anxin
Late or inaccurate ISFBefore loading abroadStuffing and consolidator data sent to the ISF filer immediately after packingAnxin with the ISF filer
SP188 cartons without the US markingDischarge and onward truckingMarking or CAO label checked on carton photos before stuffingShipper, checked by Anxin

Questions

Dalian → Grays Harbor: questions we are asked

Yes, if the container moves on a public highway. The IMDG waiver in 49 CFR 171.25(d)(2) only covers cargo that stays on the ship or moves between vessels; otherwise 49 CFR 172.604 requires a monitored number answered by someone with the emergency information. Goods shipped as 'Battery powered equipment' are exempt.

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.

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. 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
  2. 19 CFR 149.2 – Importer security filing: requirement and time of transmission (eCFR / CBP)
  3. 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
  4. 49 CFR 172.604: Emergency response telephone number (eCFR / PHMSA)
  5. Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
  6. DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
  7. Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
  8. Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources News))
  9. 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 Grays Harbor
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Dalian → Grays Harbor

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 → Grays Harbor before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Dalian · United States ports

A truck hauling a teal shipping container on a motorway

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