Qingdao (Qianwan)
Qianwan exports from Shandong, where Qingdao MSA's one-document pilot cuts repeat filings for cargo moved between terminals by water.
North America · sea freight from Qingdao
Shipping from Qingdao to San Francisco
Qingdao to San Francisco
Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Sea of Japan · Tsugaru Strait · North Pacific
- QingdaoChina origin
- Yellow Sea
- Korea Strait
- Sea of Japan
- Tsugaru Strait
- North Pacific
- San FranciscoUnited States
This route runs through Qingdao's Qianwan terminals, then follows a great-circle crossing of the North Pacific; at the far end is the port of San Francisco.
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. The 5 points below are particular to this lane; each comes with what we do and the paperwork it touches.
What we need to start
- One-document pilot
- Fog season Apr–Jul
- ISF filer
- Supply-chain tracing file
- HTS code 8507.60
Route profile
What sets Qingdao → San Francisco apart
Transpacific (North Pacific)
No canal or Red Sea passage, but a North Pacific crossing where winter storms have collapsed container stacks.
Where this route gets difficult
What to watch between Qingdao and San Francisco: 5 points
Listed from loading in Qingdao to import into United States, each with what we do about it.
- Origin port
Energy-storage systems follow Shandong's own ESS guide
Shandong MSA has issued a waterway safe-transport guide specifically for lithium battery energy storage systems at Shandong coastal ports, so ESS units shipped from Qingdao should be prepared with that provincial guide in mind as well as the IMDG Code.
What Anxin does: For ESS cargo we review the unit's packing and securing plan against the Shandong guide with the packing site before booking.
- Sea corridor
An open-ocean crossing where weather is the main risk
From Qingdao the drawn corridor to San Francisco runs across the North Pacific without a canal or Red Sea passage, so weather replaces chokepoints as the risk. The ONE Apus, bound from Yantian to Long Beach in November 2020, had a stack collapse in a storm about 1,600 nautical miles north-west of Hawaii; her owners said more than 1,900 containers could be lost or damaged, up to 40 of them hazmat.
What Anxin does: For winter sailings especially, we review blocking and bracing on stuffing photos against the CINS points before sealing, and make sure the DG declaration is complete, so a damaged box can be identified and handled correctly.
- Import country
ISF closes 24 hours before loading in Qingdao
The Importer Security Filing must reach CBP no later than 24 hours before the container is laden aboard the vessel abroad. CBP's liquidated damages guidelines provide for a claim per violation for late, inaccurate or incomplete filings. Two of the data elements, the container stuffing location and the consolidator, only exist once the box is packed.
What Anxin does: We send the importer's ISF filer the stuffing location, consolidator and manufacturer details as soon as the container is packed in Qingdao, ahead of the vessel's loading window.
- Import country
California's battery-embedded product rules since January 2026
Under California SB 1215, consumers have paid a recycling fee on covered battery-embedded products since 1 January 2026, and those products must be labelled with the maker's name or brand and the battery chemistry, or give that information on the maker's website. Manufacturers must also list covered and exempt products in an annual notice to retailers and CalRecycle.
What Anxin does: If the goods landing at San Francisco 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.
- Import country
Button and coin cells: Reese's Law
Consumer products containing button or coin cells manufactured or imported after 19 March 2024 must meet the UL 4200A-2023 performance and warning-label rules adopted as 16 CFR part 1263, and battery packaging labels have been mandatory since 21 September 2024. The importer also needs a certificate citing the rule.
What Anxin does: When a shipment for San Francisco includes products with button or coin cells, we ask for the certificate and photos of the battery compartment warnings before booking.
Documents & compliance
What to have ready: Qingdao to San Francisco
Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.
At the Qingdao end
- Load plan showing even weight distribution (no more than 60% of the cargo weight in either half of the container length)
- 'Made in China' marking on articles or containers checked on photos
- 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
For the shipping line
- Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
- SP188 cartons: US 'forbidden aboard passenger aircraft' marking or CAO label
- UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
For import into United States
- ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
- Supply-chain tracing file for cells and lithium inputs, in case of a UFLPA request
- CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
Before you book
One consistent file
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 Qingdao export filings, the carrier booking and the United States 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
What could go wrong from Qingdao to San Francisco, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stack collapse or cargo shift in a North Pacific storm | Mid-Pacific | Blocking and bracing checked before sealing; complete DG data for incident response | Packing site / carrier, checked by Anxin |
| Late or inaccurate ISF | Before loading abroad | Stuffing and consolidator data sent to the ISF filer immediately after packing | Anxin with the ISF filer |
Questions
Qingdao → San Francisco: questions we are asked
No. The carrier must also send its cargo declaration through AMS 24 hours before loading, and CBP will not issue the permit to unlade without it.
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.
Mainly April to July, according to the China Meteorological Administration, which calls sea fog a major hazard for Yellow Sea transport.
References
Official sources for this page
- 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- 19 CFR 149.2 – Importer security filing: requirement and time of transmission (eCFR / CBP)
- 19 CFR 4.7: inward foreign manifest; advance filing of cargo declaration (24 hours before lading) (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
- Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
- DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
- Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
- Container ship ONE Apus; North Pacific Ocean (incident record) (NOAA IncidentNews)
- 'One-document, one-box' pilot for water-to-water transhipment of new-energy dangerous goods starts in Qingdao (Chinese), 12 November 2024 (China Transport 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 Qingdao
- 5ImportClearance at San Francisco
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Qingdao → San Francisco before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Qingdao · United States ports
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