Asia – Baltic via the Danish straits
The Baltic is reached only through the Danish straits, where deep-draught ships are advised to take pilots, and its northern ports set ice-class restrictions every winter.
Europe · sea freight from Guangzhou
Shipping from Guangzhou to Gdansk
Guangzhou to Gdansk
South China Sea · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits
- GuangzhouChina origin
- South China Sea
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Strait of Gibraltar
- English Channel
- Danish Straits
- GdanskPoland
Lithium batteries for Gdansk go from the Pearl River Delta via Nansha. On the way they face a Suez-or-Cape voyage that ends with the Danish straits and the Baltic, and they arrive at a Baltic port where the harbour master sets conditions for handling each dangerous-goods cargo.
Poland expects the importer to hold a BDO register entry for batteries. 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
- Typhoon season Jun–Oct
- Nansha export
- Polish-language safety information
- Consignee EORI
- EU declaration of conformity
Route profile
What sets Guangzhou → Gdansk apart
Gdańsk / Gdynia
Dangerous goods declared through Poland's National Single Window 24 hours before arrival, with the harbour master's consent and conditions for handling.
Where this route gets difficult
5 points to plan for on the Guangzhou → Gdansk route
They run from the Guangzhou terminal through the voyage to Gdansk and the Poland import file.
- Origin port
Dongguan factory to Nansha: the new one-box route
On 22 September 2026 Dongguan and Guangzhou MSA agreed to extend the one-box model to Nansha: Guangzhou MSA recognises Dongguan MSA's factory inspection and does not re-inspect unless necessary. The first box was stuffed in Dongguan that day and sailed from Nansha to Singapore on 24 September. The model is new at Nansha, so the factory record has to be right first time.
What Anxin does: We ask at booking whether your Dongguan factory can use the Nansha one-box arrangement and make sure the stuffing photos, packing certificate and DG declaration match, because a mismatch is the 'necessary' case that brings the second inspection back.
- Origin port
Nansha MSA's state-of-charge advice for energy storage
At a July 2024 meeting on energy-storage carriage, Nansha MSA recommended shipping ESS batteries at a state of charge of around 25% and preventing accidental activation. It is a recommendation rather than a fixed rule, but it is the figure the local authority has put on record.
What Anxin does: For ESS cargo leaving Nansha we ask the manufacturer to state the shipping state of charge and the anti-activation measures in writing, and put both in the documents the carrier sees.
- Sea corridor
The Danish straits and a possible feeder change
Every box for Gdansk passes the Danish straits, where IMO recommends pilotage on Route T for ships with a draught of 11 m or more and the Danish Maritime Authority reports non-compliant ships to their flag state. If the container is moved to a feeder at a North Sea port, that second vessel must also accept the UN numbers.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier to name any transhipment port and the feeder operator on the booking and confirm DG acceptance for that leg as well as the mainline.
- Destination port
National Single Window declaration and the harbour master's conditions
In the ports supervised by the Maritime Office in Gdynia, the dangerous goods on an arriving ship are declared through the National Single Window at least 24 hours ahead, or on departure from the previous port on a short leg, which is common for Baltic feeders. The harbour master then gives consent and sets conditions for entry and handling.
What Anxin does: Because most Chinese cargo reaches Gdansk by feeder, we check the DG data are final before the mainline ship leaves Guangzhou, so the feeder's declaration is not built on a draft.
- Import country
Battery label from August 2026, QR code from February 2027
The Battery Regulation's general information label applies from 18 August 2026 (or 18 months after the label implementing act, if later), and every battery needs a QR code from 18 February 2027, linked to a battery passport for EV, LMT and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Where the battery is too small, both go on the packaging and accompanying documents.
What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Poland 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: Guangzhou to Gdansk
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.
Before loading in Guangzhou
- For ESS: written shipping state of charge and anti-activation measures from the manufacturer
- Substance declaration covering mercury, cadmium and lead limits
- 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
- Transhipment port, feeder operator and feeder DG acceptance named on the booking
- Final DG data for the National Single Window declaration
- UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
For the importer in Poland
- Label and QR-code status against the August 2026 and February 2027 dates
- Haulier in Poland briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
- BDO registration number of the Polish importer
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Guangzhou filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for Poland before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Gdansk.
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 Guangzhou → Gdansk
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second inspection at Nansha because factory records are incomplete | Dongguan factory → Nansha | Photos, packing certificate and declaration matched before trucking | Anxin |
| Feeder operator does not accept the UN numbers | North Sea hub | DG acceptance for the feeder leg confirmed | Anxin with the carrier |
| Feeder's declaration differs from the mainline booking | Port of Gdansk | DG data final before the mainline departure | Carrier / agent |
| Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026 | Importer in Poland | Label status confirmed before booking | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
Common questions on the Guangzhou → Gdansk route
24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Gdansk. Without it carriers do not load the box, and a filing without an EORI number is rejected.
Often, but it depends on the service. The Baltic is reached through the Danish straits, and we ask the carrier to name any transhipment port and confirm DG acceptance for each vessel.
Both now have a one-box arrangement with Dongguan MSA: Yantian since May 2026 and Nansha since 22 September 2026, so a container inspected at the factory need not be reopened at the terminal unless necessary. The choice then comes down to the carrier's service to your destination and the cut-offs; we compare both when you book.
References
Official sources for this page
- BDO: instrukcja do Modułu elektronicznych wniosków (Ministerstwo Klimatu i Środowiska (BDO))
- Ustawa o bateriach i akumulatorach, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 809 (tekst jednolity) (Dziennik Ustaw (via OpenLEX))
- Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
- Zgłaszanie oraz uzyskiwanie zgody i warunków na wejście do portu i obsługę ładunków niebezpiecznych (Urząd Morski w Gdyni)
- Zarządzenie porządkowe: przepisy portowe (tekst jednolity) (Urząd Morski w Gdyni)
- Navigation through Danish waters (version 16.0, 2025) (Danish Maritime Authority)
- Nansha MSA meeting on the safe carriage of energy-storage batteries (Guangzhou Nansha District Government)
- 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 Guangzhou
- 5ImportClearance at Gdansk
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Guangzhou → Gdansk before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Guangzhou · Poland ports
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