Tianjin (Xingang)
North China's main container gateway, where Tianjin Customs lets DG containers be inspected at the factory and loaded on arrival within a booked port slot, and where the Bohai Bay freezes at its edges in mid-winter.
Europe · sea freight from Tianjin
Shipping from Tianjin to Kemi
Tianjin to Kemi
Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Malacca Strait · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits
- TianjinChina origin
- Bohai Sea
- Bohai Strait
- Malacca Strait
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Strait of Gibraltar
- English Channel
- Danish Straits
- KemiFinland
This route runs through Tianjin, with its Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals on the Bohai Bay, then follows a Suez-or-Cape voyage that ends with the Danish straits and the Baltic; at the far end is the port of Kemi.
The Finnish side adds producer registration to the EU battery rules. Below are 5 route-specific points to plan for, what we do about each, and the documents to have ready before booking.
What we need to start
- Bohai Bay winter ice
- Tianjin Xingang export
- Consignee EORI
- EU declaration of conformity
- Finnish producer register entry
Route profile
The Tianjin → Kemi route in brief
Asia – Baltic via the Danish straits
The Baltic is reached only through the Danish straits, where deep-draught ships are advised to take pilots, and its northern ports set ice-class restrictions every winter.
Where this route gets difficult
5 points to plan for on the Tianjin → Kemi route
Listed from loading in Tianjin to import into Finland, each with what we do about it.
- Origin port
Packaging appraisal is still the first step at Tianjin
Export dangerous-goods packaging must pass use appraisal in China before the goods can leave. Tianjin port's 2025 measures shortened appraisal time for lithium battery exports through quick release, and Tianjin Port Group handles lithium DG containers, but without the appraisal certificate the rest of the filing cannot proceed.
What Anxin does: We check at quotation that the packaging maker has its performance appraisal and apply for the use appraisal as soon as the packing is fixed, so the certificate is in hand before the MSA filing.
- Sea corridor
Finnish winter traffic restrictions and ice class
Each winter Finland's Transport Infrastructure Agency restricts traffic to its ports so that only ships of a given ice class and deadweight receive icebreaker assistance; exemption requests are due three working days before arrival at the latest, and Baltic restrictions appear on baltice.org. During the restriction period a feeder lacking the ice class may be refused at Kemi.
What Anxin does: For winter shipments we check the restrictions in force on baltice.org for Kemi and ask the carrier to confirm that the final feeder has the required ice class before we book.
- Import country
Supply-chain due diligence moved to August 2027
The Battery Regulation's due diligence obligations on cobalt, lithium, nickel and natural graphite were postponed by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 and now apply from 18 August 2027, with Commission guidelines due by 26 July 2026. Buyers in Finland are already asking suppliers for the supply-chain data they will need.
What Anxin does: We pass the Finland buyer's due diligence questions to the manufacturer and keep their answers with the shipment file; the policy itself remains the producer's responsibility.
- Import country
Battery label from August 2026, QR code from February 2027
The Battery Regulation's general information label applies from 18 August 2026 (or 18 months after the label implementing act, if later), and every battery needs a QR code from 18 February 2027, linked to a battery passport for EV, LMT and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Where the battery is too small, both go on the packaging and accompanying documents.
What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Finland importer to confirm the battery category and whether the label and QR-code elements are already on the goods, and compare carton photos with that answer.
- Import country
The truck leg out of Kemi runs under ADR
Road delivery from Kemi is an ADR movement, because the EU applies ADR to domestic journeys through Directive 2008/68/EC. For UN 3480 that means class 9, transport category 2 and tunnel code (E), which restricts the route through category E tunnels; batteries found damaged at unloading move to special provision 376 packing (P908 or P911).
What Anxin does: We give the Finland haulier the same UN number, class and package details that appear on the sea dangerous goods declaration, so the ADR transport document matches the container paperwork from Tianjin.
Documents & compliance
What to have ready: Tianjin to Kemi
These documents come from the shipper, the manufacturer and the importer. Anxin checks them against each other; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.
In Tianjin, before the box is loaded
- Packaging use-appraisal certificate issued before the MSA cargo report is filed
- 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)
- EU declaration of conformity and CE marking photo from the manufacturer
For the shipping line
- Transhipment port, feeder operator and feeder DG acceptance named on the booking
- Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
- In winter: feeder ice class checked against the restrictions on baltice.org
For import into Finland
- Label and QR-code status against the August 2026 and February 2027 dates
- Instructions and safety information in the language Finland requires
- Finnish producer register entry (or authorised representative)
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Tianjin filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for Finland before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Kemi.
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 Tianjin → Kemi
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeder lacks the ice class required under winter restrictions | Northern Baltic, winter | Ice class confirmed at booking | Carrier, checked by Anxin |
| Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026 | Importer in Finland | Label status confirmed before booking | Manufacturer / importer |
| Road route planned through a category E tunnel | Road leg from Kemi | Tunnel code (E) passed to the haulier with the transport data | Haulier / forwarder |
Questions
Tianjin → Kemi: questions we are asked
24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Kemi. Without it carriers do not load the box, and a filing without an EORI number is rejected.
Often, but it depends on the service. The Baltic is reached through the Danish straits, and we ask the carrier to name any transhipment port and confirm DG acceptance for each vessel.
Tianjin Customs offers a 'supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival' model: stuffing is supervised at the factory, the box enters the port in a booked slot and is loaded directly. Whether a given shipment can use it depends on the customs arrangement for the exporter and the port slot; we check both when you book.
References
Where these points come from
- How does a distance seller manage their extended producer responsibility? (Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto))
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (ELI) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 as regards due diligence obligations (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
- Navigation through Danish waters (version 16.0, 2025) (Danish Maritime Authority)
- Finland's winter navigation 2025–2026 (Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency)
- Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
- Tianjin port 2025 cross-border trade facilitation measures (Tianjin Municipal Government (tjjz.gov.cn))
- 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 Tianjin
- 5ImportClearance at Kemi
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Kemi before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Tianjin · Finland ports
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