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North America · sea freight from Guangzhou

Shipping from Guangzhou to Vallejo

Guangzhou to Vallejo

South China Sea · Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific

Sea corridor illustration: Guangzhou to Vallejo, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Guangzhou via South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, North Pacific to Vallejo. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAPACIFIC OCEAN East China SeaNorth Pacific GuangzhouCHINA ORIGIN VallejoUNITED STATES GuangzhouSOUTH CHINA SEAGUANGDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. GuangzhouChina origin
  2. South China Sea
  3. Taiwan Strait
  4. East China Sea
  5. North Pacific
  6. VallejoUnited 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 Guangzhou to Vallejo, cargo moves through Guangzhou's Nansha terminals, which since September 2026 accept Dongguan-inspected battery boxes without a second check, crosses a North Pacific crossing with no chokepoint but real winter-storm exposure, and is discharged at the port of Vallejo.

The US side adds a 25% Section 301 duty line, forced-labour scrutiny of lithium supply chains and an ISF deadline that falls before loading. 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

  • Dongguan–Nansha one-box
  • Typhoon season Jun–Oct
  • ISF filer
  • Supply-chain tracing file
  • HTS code 8507.60
Ask about this route United States ports from Guangzhou

Route profile

The Guangzhou → Vallejo route in brief

Origin port

Guangzhou (Nansha)

Pearl River Delta battery cargo through Nansha, where a September 2026 agreement lets Dongguan-inspected containers load without a second MSA check, and where typhoon season runs June to October.

Sea corridor

Transpacific (North Pacific)

No canal or Red Sea passage, but a North Pacific crossing where winter storms have collapsed container stacks.

Elevated section of the Nansha Port Railway on concrete piers in Guangzhou's Nansha district
A container ship under way off the Guatemalan coast

Where this route gets difficult

6 pain points from Guangzhou to Vallejo

Listed from loading in Guangzhou to import into United States, each with what we do about it.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Import country

    Brand and chemistry labels on built-in-battery products

    California has added battery-embedded products to its electronic-waste program: from 1 January 2026 buyers pay a recycling fee at purchase, and each covered product must show the manufacturer's name or brand and the battery chemistry (or put it on the maker's website), with an annual product notice to CalRecycle and retailers.

    What Anxin does: If the goods landing at Vallejo 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.

  5. Import country

    SP188 packages need an extra US marking

    Small cells and batteries shipped under IMDG special provision 188 do not need a dangerous goods declaration at sea, but 49 CFR 171.25(b)(3) adds a US condition: each package of UN3480 or UN3090 must carry the 'FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT' marking or a Cargo Aircraft Only label, and so must packages of batteries with or in equipment above 5 kg net. Cartons printed for other markets often lack it.

    What Anxin does: When the shipper declares SP188 for a Vallejo booking, we check the carton photos for the US marking or CAO label before stuffing, not after discharge.

  6. Import country

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

    If a battery container waits at Vallejo, 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 Vallejo, United StatesVallejo
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (38.08°N, 122.25°W).
Container ship being unloaded under red gantry cranes in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Guangzhou to Vallejo

Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.

In Guangzhou, before the box is loaded

  • For ESS: written shipping state of charge and anti-activation measures from the manufacturer
  • 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)

For the carrier and the voyage

  • Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
  • Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
  • SP188 cartons: US 'forbidden aboard passenger aircraft' marking or CAO label

For import into United States

  • 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
An electric scooter parked by a wall
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 United States before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Vallejo.

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 → Vallejo

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Typhoon closure after filings are madeNansha, Jun–OctSlack in stuffing date; prompt refilingAnxin with the declarant
Heavy-weather damage in a winter stormNorth Pacific, Oct–AprCINS stuffing checksPacking site, checked by Anxin
SP188 cartons without the US markingDischarge and onward truckingMarking or CAO label checked on carton photos before stuffingShipper, checked by Anxin

Questions

Guangzhou → Vallejo: 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.

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.

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

  1. 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
  2. 49 CFR 172.604: Emergency response telephone number (eCFR / PHMSA)
  3. Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
  4. Nansha MSA meeting on the safe carriage of energy-storage batteries (Guangzhou Nansha District Government)
  5. Forecasting yearly number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong (tropical cyclone season June–October, most active July–September) (Hong Kong Observatory)
  6. 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 Guangzhou
  5. 5ImportClearance at Vallejo
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Guangzhou → Vallejo

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 Guangzhou → Vallejo before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Guangzhou · United States ports

Trailers backed up to the loading docks of a warehouse

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