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.
South & Southeast Asia · sea freight from Dalian
Shipping from Dalian to Cai Mep
Dalian to Cai Mep
Yellow Sea · East China Sea · Taiwan Strait · South China Sea
- DalianChina origin
- Yellow Sea
- East China Sea
- Taiwan Strait
- South China Sea
- Cai MepVietnam
From Dalian to Cai Mep, cargo moves through Dayaowan, crosses the monsoon-driven seas of Southeast Asia, and is discharged at the port of Cai Mep.
Vietnam adds an e-manifest and DG declaration due 12 hours before arrival on short voyages. Below are 6 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
- 12-hour e-manifest
- QCVN 101
- Battery EPR
Route profile
What sets Dalian → Cai Mep apart
Asia – Southeast Asian seas
Typhoons and the winter monsoon set the pace on this short Southeast Asian route; smaller ports are often reached through a hub.
Where this route gets difficult
Where Dalian → Cai Mep shipments get held up: 6 points
Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Cai Mep and the Vietnam market.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sea corridor
Typhoon season on the run to Cai Mep
The Japan Meteorological Agency counts an average of 25.1 typhoons a year in the western North Pacific, most of them in August and September. On the run to Cai Mep a storm can shut the loading port in China or the discharge port for a day or more, and the dangerous goods filings then have to follow the box to its next vessel.
What Anxin does: In typhoon months we check the carrier's DG acceptance for the next two vessels as well, so a rolled container can be refiled quickly rather than rebooked from scratch.
- Import country
Manifest and DG declaration 12 hours before arrival
Since 15 August 2025, Decree 167/2025 requires the e-manifest, bill of lading data and dangerous goods declaration to reach Vietnam Customs 12 hours before the ship arrives when the voyage is shorter than five days, or 24 hours before on longer voyages. From Dalian the short limit usually applies, so the DG data must be final at booking.
What Anxin does: We send the carrier the full DG description with the booking, so the Vietnamese filing can go in on time without corrections.
- Import country
Phone, tablet and laptop batteries need QCVN 101 conformity
Lithium batteries for mobile phones, tablets and laptops fall under Vietnam's QCVN 101. Before sale, the importer must register them for state quality inspection, test them and declare conformity, so a consignment for Cai Mep can wait in the port until that is done.
What Anxin does: For consumer batteries we ask the importer to start the QCVN 101 registration before the goods leave Dalian, using test data from the manufacturer.
- Import country
Battery importers carry an EPR obligation
Decree 05/2025 keeps batteries under Vietnam's extended producer responsibility rules. Importers, like producers, must either recycle the batteries they place on the market or pay into the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund.
What Anxin does: At quotation we remind the importer at Cai Mep that the EPR obligation follows the goods, so it can register the volumes it imports.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Dalian → Cai Mep
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
- 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)
- Blocking and bracing photos for monsoon-season sailings
For the carrier and the voyage
- DG acceptance confirmed for a back-up vessel in typhoon months
- 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 Vietnam
- QCVN 101 registration started for phone, tablet or laptop batteries
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 Vietnam before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Cai Mep.
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
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fog hold delays the vessel; filings need amending | Yellow Sea, Apr–Jul | Amendment-ready filing data | Anxin with the declarant |
| Ice delays berthing in mid-winter | Northern Yellow Sea, Jan–Feb | Extra time before cut-off; schedule reconfirmed | Carrier, monitored by Anxin |
| Typhoon closes a port; the box moves to a later vessel | Southeast Asian ports, Jul-Oct | Back-up vessel with DG acceptance; prompt refiling | Anxin with the carrier |
| Container held for a late or corrected DG declaration | Vietnamese port of discharge | DG data final at booking | Carrier, with data from Anxin |
Questions
Dalian → Cai Mep: questions we are asked
Twelve hours before arrival for voyages under five days, 24 hours for longer ones, together with the e-manifest and B/L data.
It waits or moves to the next vessel. The dangerous goods declaration has to be refiled for that vessel, which is why we check DG acceptance for a back-up sailing in typhoon months.
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
Official sources for this page
- Decree 167/2025/ND-CP on customs inspection, supervision and control (amending Decree 08/2015) (LuatVietnam (English text))
- Circular issuing the national technical regulation on lithium batteries for handheld devices (QCVN 101:2020/BTTTT) (Ministry of Information and Communications (Viet Nam))
- Weather phenomena: Northeast Monsoon (Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia))
- Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources News))
- Sea fog in the Yellow and Bohai Seas (fog season mainly April–July) (China Meteorological Administration (from Guangming Daily))
- 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 Cai Mep
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Dalian → Cai Mep before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
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