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Europe · sea freight from Tianjin

Shipping from Tianjin to Lubeck

Tianjin to Lubeck

Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Malacca Strait · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits

Sea corridor illustration: Tianjin to Lubeck, Germany Simplified map with a curved corridor from Tianjin via Bohai Sea, Bohai Strait, Malacca Strait, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar, English Channel, Danish Straits to Lubeck. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIAAFRICAEUROPERUSSIAINDIAN OCEANNORTH ATLANTIC Singapore / MalaccaBab-el-MandebSuez CanalGibraltarEnglish Channel TianjinCHINA ORIGIN LubeckGERMANY TianjinBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. TianjinChina origin
  2. Bohai Sea
  3. Bohai Strait
  4. Malacca Strait
  5. Bab-el-Mandeb
  6. Suez Canal
  7. Strait of Gibraltar
  8. English Channel
  9. Danish Straits
  10. LubeckGermany
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 Tianjin to Lubeck, cargo moves through Tianjin, with its Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals on the Bohai Bay, crosses a Suez-or-Cape voyage that ends with the Danish straits and the Baltic, and is discharged at the port of Lubeck.

Germany expects the battery to be registered, labelled and pre-declared before it is loaded in China. 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

  • Factory-supervised loading
  • Bohai Bay winter ice
  • EU declaration of conformity
  • Consignee EORI
  • Batt-Reg.-Nr. DE
Ask about this route Germany ports from Tianjin

Route profile

How Tianjin → Lubeck differs from other lanes

Sea corridor

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.

Import country

Germany

EU Battery Regulation labelling and QR-code dates, stiftung ear registration under the BattDG, and an ICS2 entry summary that must exist before the box is loaded.

Container gantry cranes at a Tianjin port container terminal
A cargo ship at anchor in calm water under a clear sky

Where this route gets difficult

Where Tianjin → Lubeck shipments get held up: 5 points

In the order the cargo meets them: at the loading port, at sea, at Lubeck and at customs in Germany.

  1. Origin port

    Ice at the Haihe estuary in winter

    Every winter the Bohai Sea ices over, and the Haihe estuary at Tianjin is one of the harder-hit areas. For 2021/22 the national marine forecast centre put the peak ice period between mid-January and mid-February, with floating ice about 5 nautical miles out in Bohai Bay. Ice and cold slow port work just as the Chinese New Year peak arrives.

    What Anxin does: For January and February sailings from Tianjin we add slack between stuffing and the DG cut-off and confirm the vessel's berthing window with the carrier the week before loading.

  2. Sea corridor

    The inbound leg's emissions now count under EU ETS

    Because Lubeck is an EU port, container ships of 5,000 GT or more calling there fall under the EU Emissions Trading System, which covers half the emissions of the voyage from China. Lines surrendered allowances for 70% of those emissions in 2025 and must cover 100% from 2027, a cost that can reach shippers as a surcharge.

    What Anxin does: We ask for the emissions surcharge to be shown as its own line in the quote, with the basis the carrier uses, so that successive quotes can be compared like for like.

  3. Import country

    Label, QR code and passport dates under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542

    The Battery Regulation phases in the information a battery must carry. The general information label applies from 18 August 2026 (or 18 months after the label-format implementing act, if that comes later), and every battery needs a QR code from 18 February 2027. For EV, light-means-of-transport and industrial batteries above 2 kWh, that QR code must open a battery passport. Where the battery is too small, the label goes on the packaging and documents instead. Stock that leaves Tianjin without these elements cannot simply be relabelled on the quay in Lubeck.

    What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Germany importer to confirm which battery category the goods fall into and that label, QR code and passport data are settled. We check carton and label photos against that answer; we do not certify conformity.

  4. Import country

    Due diligence on battery raw materials from August 2027

    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 Germany are already collecting the supply-chain information they will need.

    What Anxin does: We pass the Germany buyer's due diligence questions to the manufacturer and keep their answers with the shipment file; the policy itself remains the producer's responsibility.

  5. Import country

    Mercury, cadmium and lead limits in portable batteries

    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 Germany 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 Germany importer; we do not test batteries.

Locator map of Lubeck, GermanyLubeck
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (53.88°N, 10.70°E).
Close view of stacked blue and red shipping containers at the Port of Rotterdam

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Tianjin to Lubeck

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

In Tianjin, before the box is loaded

  • Annex V safety documentation confirmed for stationary storage systems
  • Substance declaration covering mercury, cadmium and lead limits
  • 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

  • Transhipment port, feeder operator and feeder DG acceptance named on the booking
  • Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)
  • Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards

At the Germany end

  • Battery Regulation label / QR-code status, and battery passport where the battery is EV, LMT or industrial above 2 kWh
  • Confirmation that the battery category's OfH participation is in place (BattDG)
  • Instructions and safety information in German in the retail packaging
A cordless drill with its battery pack attached
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 Tianjin filings, the carrier booking and the Germany 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

Risk table for Tianjin → Lubeck

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Ice or cold spell slows berthing in mid-winterBohai Bay, Jan–FebSlack between stuffing and cut-off; berthing window reconfirmedCarrier, monitored by Anxin
Emissions surcharge changes between quote and sailingEU port callSurcharge shown as a separate lineCarrier, checked by Anxin
Label or QR code missing for batteries placed on the market after the application datesImporter's warehouse in GermanyCategory and labelling confirmed by the importer before production is packed; label photos reviewed before stuffingImporter / manufacturer

Questions

Tianjin → Lubeck: questions we are asked

The CE marking on the battery and the manufacturer's EU declaration of conformity, which must be available in the language Germany requires. Both have applied since 18 August 2024.

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

  1. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (consolidated text) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  2. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (ELI) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  3. Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 as regards due diligence obligations (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  4. Navigation through Danish waters (version 16.0, 2025) (Danish Maritime Authority)
  5. Reducing emissions from the shipping sector (European Commission (DG Climate Action))
  6. Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
  7. Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources News))
  8. 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 Tianjin
  5. 5ImportClearance at Lubeck
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Tianjin → Lubeck

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 Tianjin → Lubeck before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Tianjin · Germany ports

Workers loading cartons from pallets by hand in a warehouse

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