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North America · sea freight from Dalian

Shipping from Dalian to Panama City (Florida)

Dalian to Panama City (Florida)

Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Tsugaru Strait · Eastern Pacific · Panama Canal · Caribbean Sea · Yucatán Channel · Gulf of Mexico

Sea corridor illustration: Dalian to Panama City (Florida), United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Dalian via Yellow Sea, Korea Strait, Tsugaru Strait, Eastern Pacific, Panama Canal, Caribbean Sea, Yucatán Channel, Gulf of Mexico to Panama City (Florida). Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINANORTH AMERICAPACIFIC OCEAN Tsugaru StraitNorth PacificPanama Canal DalianCHINA ORIGIN Panama City (Florida)UNITED STATES DalianBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. DalianChina origin
  2. Yellow Sea
  3. Korea Strait
  4. Tsugaru Strait
  5. Eastern Pacific
  6. Panama Canal
  7. Caribbean Sea
  8. Yucatán Channel
  9. Gulf of Mexico
  10. Panama City (Florida)United 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 Panama City (Florida), cargo moves out of Dalian, the north-east's gateway on the Yellow Sea, crosses a Pacific crossing and a Panama Canal transit, and is discharged at the port of Panama City (Florida).

Panama City (Florida) means US customs filings that are due while the container is still in Dalian, and a supply chain CBP may ask to see. 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
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer
  • Supply-chain tracing file
Ask about this route United States ports from Dalian

Route profile

What sets Dalian → Panama City (Florida) 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

Asia – Americas via the Panama Canal

A Pacific crossing, a Panama Canal transit that depends on lake levels, and a Caribbean passage in hurricane season.

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

Where this route gets difficult

Where Dalian → Panama City (Florida) shipments get held up: 6 points

In the order the cargo meets them: at the loading port, at sea, at Panama City (Florida) and at customs in United States.

  1. Origin port

    Spring fog season from April to July

    The China Meteorological Administration describes sea fog as a major marine hazard in the Yellow and Bohai Seas, with the season mainly from April to July, seriously affecting sea transport. Fog holds keep vessels at anchor, and a late vessel can push the box past its documented sailing.

    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.

  2. Origin port

    A smaller flow under the new ship-carriage standard

    Liaoning's first lithium battery export under JT/T 1543 sailed from Dayaowan on 4 May 2025, and Dalian MSA counted 885 TEU of lithium batteries exported in the first four months of that year. Carriers should not accept batteries that do not meet JT/T 1543, and with a thinner flow there are fewer sailings to fall back on if a booking is refused.

    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.

  3. Sea corridor

    The Caribbean leg runs through hurricane country

    After the canal, ships to Panama City (Florida) cross the Caribbean, where the Atlantic hurricane season lasts from 1 June to 30 November and peaks around 10 September; an average year brings 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes. Ports close ahead of a storm and vessels wait or divert.

    What Anxin does: For August–October arrivals we build slack into delivery plans and pass the carrier's revised arrival straight to your consignee.

  4. Import country

    Which 8507.60 line decides the Section 301 duty

    For lithium-ion batteries entered from 1 January 2026 USTR set the Section 301 additional duty on HTSUS 8507.60.0020 (the non-EV line) at 25%, the level EV batteries under 8507.60.0010 reached in 2024. Other China-specific duties can be added and change at short notice, so the classification and the entry date both move the landed cost at Panama City (Florida).

    What Anxin does: We do not give duty rulings. We make sure the invoice describes chemistry, configuration and application precisely enough for the importer's customs broker to classify it, and we flag the entry date when a vessel's arrival could straddle a duty change.

  5. Import country

    Unentered battery containers go to General Order after 15 days

    A container landed at Panama City (Florida) 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 Panama City (Florida), and chase any missing invoice or HTS detail while the ship is still at sea.

  6. Import country

    The FMC's 30-day rules on demurrage and detention bills

    If a battery container waits at Panama City (Florida), the demurrage or detention invoice has to arrive within 30 days and carry accurate and sufficient information, or the charge is not owed (46 CFR part 541). The billed party then has at least 30 days to dispute it; in 2025 the D.C. Circuit struck down only the rule on who may be invoiced.

    What Anxin does: We keep the dates of discharge, availability and any DG hold for each container, so the importer can check invoices against them and dispute charges inside the FMC time limits.

Locator map of Panama City (Florida), United StatesPanama City (Florida)
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (30.13°N, 85.65°W).
Containers on rail wagons next to a terminal in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Dalian to Panama City (Florida)

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 carrier and the voyage

  • Canal routing and any canal-related surcharge confirmed for the booked vessel
  • 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 United States

  • HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
  • 24-hour emergency response number (and provider reference) for the US road leg
  • Importer of record and the licensed customs broker who will file the entry
Cartons on a pallet being stretch-wrapped
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

What could go wrong from Dalian to Panama City (Florida), and who acts

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Fog hold delays the vessel; filings need amendingYellow Sea, Apr–JulAmendment-ready filing dataAnxin with the declarant
Hurricane closes ports or diverts the vesselCaribbean / Gulf, Jun–NovSlack in delivery planCarrier / consignee

Questions

Dalian → Panama City (Florida): questions we are asked

Yes. Under 49 CFR 171.25(b)(3), SP188 packages of UN3480 or UN3090 need the 'FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT' marking or a Cargo Aircraft Only label, and so do packages of batteries packed with or contained in equipment above 5 kg net. We check for it on carton photos before stuffing.

1 June to 30 November, peaking around 10 September, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

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

  1. 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
  2. Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, Sept 2024) (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative)
  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. Advisory to Shipping A-33-2026: Postponement of maximum authorized draft adjustment in the Neopanamax locks (Panama Canal Authority)
  6. Tropical Cyclone Climatology (NOAA National Hurricane Center)
  7. Sea fog in the Yellow and Bohai Seas (fog season mainly April–July) (China Meteorological Administration (from Guangming Daily))
  8. 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 Panama City (Florida)
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Dalian → Panama City (Florida)

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 → Panama City (Florida) before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Dalian · United States ports

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