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 Seattle
Qingdao to Seattle
Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Sea of Japan · Tsugaru Strait · North Pacific · Strait of Juan de Fuca
- QingdaoChina origin
- Yellow Sea
- Korea Strait
- Sea of Japan
- Tsugaru Strait
- North Pacific
- Strait of Juan de Fuca
- SeattleUnited States
From Qingdao to Seattle, cargo moves out of Qingdao on the Yellow Sea, crosses the open North Pacific, where weather is the main risk, and is discharged at the port of Seattle.
US entry is decided as much by paperwork filed in China as by anything at the port. 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
- Qianwan export
- One-document pilot
- ISF filer
- Supply-chain tracing file
- HTS code 8507.60
Route profile
The Qingdao → Seattle route in brief
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
Where Qingdao → Seattle shipments get held up: 5 points
Listed from loading in Qingdao to import into United States, each with what we do about it.
- Origin port
Moving between Qingdao terminals should not mean filing twice
Since November 2024 Qingdao MSA's 'one-document, one-box' pilot has covered water-to-water transhipment of lithium batteries and other 'new three' cargo between Dagang and Qianwan: one outbound cargo report and at most one packing inspection inside the pilot ports. In the launch example, filings fell from three cargo plus three ship reports to one cargo plus two ship reports.
What Anxin does: If your cargo is stuffed at a Dagang yard or reaches Qianwan by water, we check at booking whether it qualifies for the pilot and file once, so the box is not reopened between terminals.
- Sea corridor
Winter storms with hurricane-force winds
NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center found hurricane-force winds (64 knots and above) in North Pacific mid-latitude storms in every month from October to April, peaking in December, with 15 to 23 such storms per season in its 2001–2004 records. They are not typhoons, so they do not follow the tropical calendar.
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.
- Import country
Selling in Washington from 2027 means joining a stewardship plan
Washington's battery law (RCW 70A.555) closes the market to producers outside an approved stewardship organization from 1 January 2027, and from July 2027 retailers need the producer's certification before selling portable batteries or products that contain them.
What Anxin does: When cargo through Seattle is sold in Washington, we flag the 2027 stewardship requirement to the importer at quotation so that retailer certification is in place in time.
- Import country
'China' has to be marked on each article or its container
19 CFR 134.11 requires every imported article, or its container, to carry the English name of the country of origin in a conspicuous place, as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the article allows, at the time it is imported. Batteries and battery products reaching Seattle without it can be held until they are marked.
What Anxin does: We check product and carton photos for a durable 'Made in China' marking before stuffing in Qingdao, rather than leaving it for re-marking in a US warehouse.
- Import country
CPSC certificate data now filed at entry
Since 8 July 2026, importers of consumer products that are subject to a CPSC certification requirement must electronically file the certificate data at entry; goods entered from a Foreign Trade Zone follow on 8 January 2027. Whether a battery-powered product is caught depends on the rules that apply to that product, not on the battery alone.
What Anxin does: We ask whether the goods are consumer products that need a CPSC certificate and, if so, who files it, so that the question is settled before the goods arrive.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Qingdao → Seattle
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
- Confirmation whether the Dagang–Qianwan one-document pilot applies; a single cargo report filed at the first port of loading
- 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
- 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 the importer in United States
- CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
- Importer of record and the licensed customs broker who will file the entry
- ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
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 Qingdao filings, the carrier booking and the United States 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 Qingdao to Seattle, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duplicate filing or reopening between Qingdao terminals | Dagang → Qianwan | Pilot eligibility checked at booking; single cargo report | Anxin with the declarant |
| Heavy-weather damage in a winter storm | North Pacific, Oct–Apr | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Common questions on the Qingdao → Seattle route
Yes, if the container moves on a public highway. The IMDG waiver in 49 CFR 171.25(d)(2) only covers cargo that stays on the ship or moves between vessels; otherwise 49 CFR 172.604 requires a monitored number answered by someone with the emergency information. Goods shipped as 'Battery powered equipment' are exempt.
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.
Under Qingdao MSA's 'one-document, one-box' pilot (since November 2024), water-to-water transhipment between Dagang and Qianwan needs one outbound cargo report and at most one packing inspection. We confirm eligibility at booking.
References
Regulations and port sources cited
- 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)
- 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
- 49 CFR 172.604: Emergency response telephone number (eCFR / PHMSA)
- Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
- Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
- '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)
- 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 Seattle
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Qingdao → Seattle before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Qingdao · United States ports
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