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.
Europe · sea freight from Tianjin
Tianjin to Gdynia
Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Malacca Strait · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits
Lithium batteries for Gdynia go from North China through Tianjin Xingang. On the way they face a long Europe voyage extended through the Danish straits into the Baltic, and they arrive at a Baltic port where the harbour master sets conditions for handling each dangerous-goods cargo.
Poland expects the importer to hold a BDO register entry for batteries. The 6 points below are particular to this lane; each comes with what we do and the paperwork it touches.
What we need to start
Route profile
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.
A BDO register entry for battery introducers with its number on the documents, and the EU-wide battery and ICS2 duties.


Where this route gets difficult
Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Gdynia and the Poland market.
Tianjin Customs runs a 'supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival' model for dangerous goods: officers oversee stuffing at the factory, the declaration goes in early through the single window, and the container enters the port in a slot booked on the customs–port platform and goes straight to the ship. Any inspection happens in closed yards inside the Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals. The time saved depends on the stuffing date, the slot and the declared data all matching.
What Anxin does: We fix the stuffing date against the vessel's DG cut-off first, then book the entry slot, and check that the declaration, the packing certificate and the container number agree before the truck leaves, so the box is not diverted to an inspection yard for a data mismatch.
China requires use appraisal of export dangerous-goods packaging before the goods may be exported. Tianjin port's 2025 facilitation measures shortened packaging appraisal time for lithium battery exports through quick release, and Tianjin Port Group provides port services for lithium DG containers, but the appraisal certificate is still a precondition for the rest of the filing.
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.
Cargo for Gdynia has to pass the Danish straits. IMO recommends pilots on Route T for ships of 11 m draught or more, and the Danish Maritime Authority reports ships that ignore the recommendation to their flag state. Whether the box stays on one vessel or is transhipped onto a feeder at a North Sea port, each vessel has to accept the UN numbers.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier to name any transhipment port and the feeder operator on the booking and confirm DG acceptance for that leg as well as the mainline.
In the ports supervised by the Maritime Office in Gdynia, the dangerous goods on an arriving ship are declared through the National Single Window at least 24 hours ahead, or on departure from the previous port on a short leg, which is common for Baltic feeders. The harbour master then gives consent and sets conditions for entry and handling.
What Anxin does: Because most Chinese cargo reaches Gdynia by feeder, we check the DG data are final before the mainline ship leaves Tianjin, so the feeder's declaration is not built on a draft.
A battery entering Poland has to identify its importer: name, registered trade name or trade mark, postal address and a contact point belong on the battery itself, or on the packaging or accompanying document when the battery is too small. That text is fixed at the factory, not at Gdynia.
What Anxin does: We pass the Poland importer's name and address block to the manufacturer before the goods are packed in China and check carton or battery photos for it before loading.
Since 18 August 2024 a battery sold in the EU needs the CE marking and an EU declaration of conformity from its manufacturer. The declaration has to be available in the language Poland requires, and the importer is the one who must check both before the goods are released for sale.
What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer in China for the declaration of conformity and a photo of the CE marking on the battery or its packaging before loading, and pass them to the Poland importer. We check that the documents exist and match the goods; we do not assess conformity.

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

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 Poland 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 | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box sent to the terminal inspection yard because declared data do not match | Beijiang / Dongjiang terminals | Declaration, packing certificate and container number cross-checked before trucking | Anxin |
| Feeder operator does not accept the UN numbers | North Sea hub | DG acceptance for the feeder leg confirmed | Anxin with the carrier |
| Feeder's declaration differs from the mainline booking | Port of Gdynia | DG data final before the mainline departure | Carrier / agent |
| Declaration of conformity missing or not in the required language | Importer in Poland | Declaration and CE photo collected before loading | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
ADR, which the EU applies to domestic journeys through Directive 2008/68/EC. UN 3480 is class 9, transport category 2, with tunnel restriction code (E).
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
Next step
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We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Gdynia before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Tianjin · Poland ports

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