Lithium battery freight focus Air · Sea · Land assessment Document-first planning
Shipment Status & Support

North America · sea freight from Dalian

Shipping from Dalian to Long Beach

Dalian to Long Beach

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

Sea corridor illustration: Dalian to Long Beach, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Dalian via Yellow Sea, Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, Tsugaru Strait, North Pacific to Long Beach. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINANORTH AMERICAPACIFIC OCEAN Tsugaru StraitNorth Pacific DalianCHINA ORIGIN Long BeachUNITED 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. Long BeachUnited 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.

Lithium batteries for Long Beach go out of Dalian, the north-east's gateway on the Yellow Sea. On the way they face the open North Pacific, where weather is the main risk, and they arrive at the port of Long Beach.

The United States applies Section 301 and UFLPA scrutiny to Chinese lithium batteries and wants its manifest data before loading. The 5 points below are particular to this lane; each comes with what we do and the paperwork it touches.

What we need to start

  • Winter ice & spring fog
  • Dalian Dayaowan export
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer
  • Supply-chain tracing file

Route profile

What sets Dalian → Long Beach apart

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)

A North Pacific crossing with no canal or chokepoint risk, but with a record of winter storms strong enough to collapse container stacks.

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

5 points to plan for on the Dalian → Long Beach route

They run from the Dalian terminal through the voyage to Long Beach and the United States import file.

  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

    AMS: the manifest CBP sees before the ship leaves Dalian

    Under 19 CFR 4.7 the carrier's cargo declaration must be in CBP's Automated Manifest System 24 hours before loading abroad. Without it, or with inaccurate data, the permit to unlade the container at Long Beach can be delayed or refused.

    What Anxin does: We give the carrier or NVOCC the final cargo description, HS code, UN number and package count before the documentation cut-off in Dalian, so the AMS filing and the DG manifest say the same thing.

  4. Import country

    The emergency response number has to be answered live

    US rules want a numeric emergency response telephone number on the shipping paper for battery cargo that leaves Long Beach by road, monitored for as long as the goods are in transport and answered by a person with the emergency information for UN3480 or UN3090. A call-back service fails the test (49 CFR 172.604); only the IMDG waiver for cargo that never touches a public highway avoids it.

    What Anxin does: Before sailing we confirm who provides the 24-hour number for the US leg, usually the importer's emergency response provider, and put it with the contract reference on the DG documents we send to the trucker.

  5. Import country

    California's battery-embedded product rules since January 2026

    Under California SB 1215, consumers have paid a recycling fee on covered battery-embedded products since 1 January 2026, and those products must be labelled with the maker's name or brand and the battery chemistry, or give that information on the maker's website. Manufacturers must also list covered and exempt products in an annual notice to retailers and CalRecycle.

    What Anxin does: If the goods landing at Long Beach are devices with built-in batteries for sale in California, we ask the brand owner to confirm the chemistry labelling and the CalRecycle notice before shipping.

Locator map of Long Beach, United StatesLong Beach
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (33.77°N, 118.18°W).
Containers on rail wagons next to a terminal in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

Checklist for Dalian → Long Beach

Test reports, safety data sheets and import certificates come from the shipper, factory and importer, not from Anxin; our part is to review them before booking.

At the Dalian end

  • 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

For the shipping line

  • Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
  • SP188 cartons: US 'forbidden aboard passenger aircraft' marking or CAO label
  • UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type

For import into United States

  • 24-hour emergency response number (and provider reference) for the US road leg
  • CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
  • Importer of record and the licensed customs broker who will file the entry
A cordless drill with its battery pack attached
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 United States before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Long Beach.

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
Permit to unlade delayed for a late or inaccurate AMS manifestPort of dischargeFinal cargo data given to the carrier before the cut-offCarrier / NVOCC, with data from Anxin
Truck stopped without a monitored emergency numberRoad leg from the portEmergency response provider confirmed before sailingImporter, checked by Anxin

Questions

Common questions on the Dalian → Long Beach route

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.

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.

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 Long Beach
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Dalian → Long Beach

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 → Long Beach before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Dalian · United States ports

A forklift moving palletised cartons in a warehouse

Need Dalian → Long Beach reviewed?

Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.

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