Asia – North & Atlantic Europe
The map shows the Suez corridor, but in September 2026 most Asia–North Europe capacity still sails round the Cape of Good Hope.
Europe · sea freight from Lianyungang
Lianyungang to Rotterdam
Yellow Sea · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel
Lithium batteries for Rotterdam go out of Lianyungang, where the MSA simplified 'new three' filings in 2024. On the way they face a voyage that may run through Suez as drawn or round the Cape, depending on the service, and they arrive at a port where every dangerous-goods container is declared through Portbase once the ship leaves its last port.
The Dutch side combines an interim registration route with strict port reporting. 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
Route profile
The map shows the Suez corridor, but in September 2026 most Asia–North Europe capacity still sails round the Cape of Good Hope.
Dangerous goods notified container by container through Portbase as soon as the ship leaves its previous port, with berths near housing closed to ships carrying larger hazardous loads.


Where this route gets difficult
Listed from loading in Lianyungang to import into Netherlands, each with what we do about it.
For energy storage shipped on break-bulk vessels, Lianyungang MSA's June 2025 guide classes ESS cabinets as UN3480 and ESS containers as UN3536, recommends 20–50% remaining charge, and requires converters and monitoring switched off, series and parallel circuits disconnected, packages spread evenly with a low centre of gravity, and a safety meeting before the ship arrives.
What Anxin does: For ESS units we confirm the UN number the unit ships under, get the state of charge and isolation steps in writing from the manufacturer, and join the pre-arrival safety meeting with the stowage details.
The map on this page shows the corridor through Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez, but Sea-Intelligence figures for September 2026 put Red Sea routing on the Asia–Europe head-haul at 13–25%, with 27% for North Europe services and 57% for the Mediterranean. The service that calls at Rotterdam decides between Suez and the Cape of Good Hope, and with it the distance, the waters and the possible transhipment ports.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier to state the routing and any transhipment port on the booking confirmation, and we quote the two routings separately when both are on offer rather than mixing them.
Rotterdam's Harbour Master expects the dangerous goods on an inbound ship to be notified through Portbase as soon as possible after it leaves its previous port. The notification lists hazardous substances container by container, so each class 9 box from Lianyungang has to be described exactly as it was booked.
What Anxin does: We make sure the UN number, proper shipping name, packages and weights on the booking match the shipper's declaration before loading, so the container-level Portbase data for Rotterdam line up with the box.
Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 pushed the Battery Regulation's due diligence duties for cobalt, lithium, nickel and natural graphite back to 18 August 2027 and gave the Commission until 26 July 2026 for its guidelines. Buyers in Netherlands are already collecting the supply-chain information they will need.
What Anxin does: We pass the Netherlands buyer's due diligence questions to the manufacturer and keep their answers with the shipment file; the policy itself remains the producer's responsibility.
An importer has to ensure that batteries are accompanied by instructions and safety information in a language that end-users in Netherlands can easily understand, as the Member State determines. Inserts and carton print are much simpler to adjust before packing in China.
What Anxin does: We ask the importer which language Netherlands requires and check carton and insert photos against it before loading.
Annex I of the Battery Regulation caps mercury at 0.0005 %, cadmium at 0.002 % and lead at 0.01 % by weight in portable batteries, and the lead limit has applied since 18 August 2024. Market surveillance in Netherlands can ask the importer to show that the goods meet these limits.
What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer for its substance declaration or test report reference and file it with the shipping documents for the Netherlands importer; we do not test batteries.

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

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 Lianyungang export filings, the carrier booking and the Netherlands 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
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESS unit not isolated or poorly distributed in a break-bulk hold | Lianyungang, break-bulk loading | Manufacturer's written isolation steps; safety meeting | Manufacturer / ship, coordinated by Anxin |
| Service switches between Suez and Cape routing | Main voyage | Routing written on the booking; quotes kept separate per routing; packing assumes the longer voyage | Carrier, tracked by Anxin |
| Portbase DG data do not match the container | Port of Rotterdam | Booking DG data checked against the shipper's declaration | Anxin with the carrier |
Questions
The Rijkswaterstaat register is not yet operational. Producers of portable batteries can register with Stichting OPEN, whose registration number and public producer list serve as best-effort proof in the meantime.
Ships of 5,000 GT and above calling at EU ports are in the EU Emissions Trading System, covering 50% of the emissions of a voyage from outside the EU. Lines must surrender allowances for 70% of 2025 emissions and 100% from 2027, and may pass the cost on as a surcharge.
Its June 2025 break-bulk ESS guide recommends 20–50% remaining charge, with converters and monitoring off and circuits disconnected.
References
Next step
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We check carrier acceptance for Lianyungang → Rotterdam before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Lianyungang · Netherlands ports

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