Mersin
IMO class numbers on every loading and discharge list, with a penalty per container when the lists and the box disagree.
Europe · sea freight from Guangzhou
Shipping from Guangzhou to Mersin
Guangzhou to Mersin
South China Sea · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Gulf of Aden · Bab-el-Mandeb · Red Sea · Suez Canal · Mediterranean Sea
- GuangzhouChina origin
- South China Sea
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Gulf of Aden
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Red Sea
- Suez Canal
- Mediterranean Sea
- MersinTurkey
From Guangzhou to Mersin, cargo moves out of Nansha, at the mouth of the Pearl River, crosses a Suez corridor that Mediterranean services are using again more than any other Asia–Europe lane, and is discharged at Mersin, where a battery box declared late as dangerous goods is penalised.
Türkiye wants the entry summary declaration 24 hours before the container is loaded in China. 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
- Nansha export
- Dongguan–Nansha one-box
- IMO class on the discharge list (Mersin)
- Özet beyan 24 h before loading
- TAP membership + Çevre Uyum İzni
Route profile
What sets Guangzhou → Mersin apart
Türkiye
Türkiye inspects battery imports through TAREKS before the customs declaration, and importers must be in the TAP collection system.
Where this route gets difficult
5 points to plan for on the Guangzhou → Mersin route
They run from the Guangzhou terminal through the voyage to Mersin and the Turkey import file.
- Origin port
Typhoon weeks at the Pearl River mouth
The Hong Kong Observatory puts the region's tropical cyclone season from June to October, busiest July to September. Nansha sits at the mouth of the Pearl River; a closed gate or a changed vessel means the DG filings and the packing certificate have to follow the box to a new sailing.
What Anxin does: From June to October we leave slack between stuffing and the DG cut-off at Nansha and refile quickly if the vessel changes.
- 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 round-Africa alternative
Services that avoid the Red Sea, 43% of the Mediterranean total, go round the Cape of Good Hope and re-enter through Gibraltar. SAMSA estimates that about 200 of the 576 containers lost at sea in 2024, 35% of the total, went overboard near the Cape.
What Anxin does: On Cape sailings we apply the CINS blocking and bracing checks strictly on stuffing photos before sealing.
- Destination port
Late or missing DG declaration is penalised
At Mersin, the discharge list has to carry the IMO class of every DG container; a mismatch with the box, or a container declared dangerous only after it has been landed, draws a per-container label penalty.
What Anxin does: We book lithium batteries as class 9 from the start and check the placards in the sealed-container photos, so the discharge list for Mersin and the box agree.
- Import country
Risk-based TAREKS check comes first
A battery container landed at Mersin cannot be declared to customs until the TAREKS import inspection under Communiqué 2017/15 is done; the system selects checks by risk analysis, and the importer answers for compliance.
What Anxin does: We send the importer the manufacturer's declaration of conformity, test reports and product photos before loading, for its TAREKS application.
Documents & compliance
Checklist for Guangzhou → Mersin
Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.
Before loading in Guangzhou
- For ESS: written shipping state of charge and anti-activation measures from the manufacturer
- 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
- Transport-condition classification report where applicable
Carrier and voyage
- Routing (Red Sea or Cape) and any war-risk surcharge stated on the booking
- Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
- Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
At the Turkey end
- Declaration of conformity and test reports for the TAREKS inspection
- Importer's TAP membership and Çevre Uyum İzni (TAREKS)
Before you book
Send the file once, complete
Most delays on this route start with a document that exists but does not match: a UN number, a model name or a package count that differs between the Guangzhou filings, the carrier booking and the Turkey import file. We check the three against each other before the booking is confirmed.
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 Guangzhou to Mersin, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typhoon closure after filings are made | Nansha, Jun–Oct | Slack in stuffing date; prompt refiling | Anxin with the declarant |
| Heavy weather off South Africa on a Cape sailing | Cape of Good Hope | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| IMO label penalty for a list mismatch | Mersin International Port | Class 9 booked and placarded from origin | Carrier / shipper |
| TAREKS inspection delays the customs declaration | Port of discharge | Conformity documents sent before loading | Importer / manufacturer |
Questions
Guangzhou → Mersin: questions we are asked
Yes. Under Communiqué 2017/15 battery imports go through a risk-based TAREKS inspection before the customs declaration is registered.
Often: in September 2026, 57% of Asia–Mediterranean services used the Red Sea routing. Bab el-Mandeb was rated a SUBSTANTIAL threat by the JMIC on 24 September 2026, so we confirm each service's routing before booking.
Nansha MSA has recommended around 25% for ESS batteries and measures against accidental activation. Treat it as the local authority's recommendation; the carrier's own acceptance conditions also apply.
References
Where these points come from
- Türkiye: Import Requirements and Documentation (last published 2026-01-29) (International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce)
- JMIC Update 099 to Advisory Note (Joint Maritime Information Center (via UKMTO))
- Nansha MSA meeting on the safe carriage of energy-storage batteries (Guangzhou Nansha District Government)
- Forecasting yearly number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong (tropical cyclone season June–October, most active July–September) (Hong Kong Observatory)
- 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 Mersin
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Guangzhou → Mersin before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
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