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
Shipping from Tianjin to Norrkoping
Tianjin to Norrkoping
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
- NorrkopingSweden
Lithium batteries for Norrkoping go out of Tianjin's Xingang terminals, where customs can supervise stuffing at the factory and the box goes straight to the ship on a booked slot. On the way they face a long Europe voyage extended through the Danish straits into the Baltic, and they arrive at the port of Norrkoping.
Sweden has required producer registration with Naturvårdsverket since January 2026. 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
- Naturvårdsverket registration
- Swedish-language safety information
- Consignee EORI
Route profile
What sets Tianjin → Norrkoping apart
Sweden
Registration with Naturvårdsverket since January 2026 under Ordinance 2025:813, and the EU-wide battery and ICS2 duties.
Where this route gets difficult
What to watch between Tianjin and Norrkoping: 5 points
They run from the Tianjin terminal through the voyage to Norrkoping and the Sweden import file.
- Origin port
Winter ice at the Haihe mouth
Sea ice forms every winter in the Bohai Sea, and the Haihe estuary at Tianjin is among the severe areas. In winter 2021/22 China's national marine forecast centre expected the peak ice period from mid-January to mid-February, with floating ice reaching about 5 nautical miles out in Bohai Bay. Ice and cold spells slow port operations around the Chinese New Year shipping peak.
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.
- 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 Norrkoping.
What Anxin does: For winter shipments we check the restrictions in force on baltice.org for Norrkoping and ask the carrier to confirm that the final feeder has the required ice class before we book.
- Import country
Substance limits for portable batteries
For portable batteries, Annex I sets maximum levels of 0.0005 % mercury, 0.002 % cadmium and 0.01 % lead by weight, the lead limit applying since 18 August 2024. The importer in Sweden may be asked by market surveillance to demonstrate compliance.
What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer for its substance declaration or test report reference and file it with the shipping documents for the Sweden importer; we do not test batteries.
- Import country
Naturvårdsverket registration since January 2026
Sweden's supplementary ordinance to the Battery Regulation (SFS 2025:813) has required battery producers to be registered with Naturvårdsverket since 1 January 2026. A producer responsibility organisation such as El-Kretsen can help with the filing, but the data remain the producer's responsibility.
What Anxin does: We ask the Swedish importer to confirm the registration is in place before booking, and pass on battery chemistry and weight data it may need for reporting.
- Import country
The importer's name and address on the battery
The Battery Regulation asks the importer to put its own name, registered trade name or trade mark and postal address, with a single contact point, on the battery. Only when the battery's size or nature makes that impossible may the details move to the packaging or an accompanying document, so a Sweden importer's details need to reach the factory before printing.
What Anxin does: We pass the Sweden 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.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Tianjin → Norrkoping
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
- 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
- Transport-condition classification report where applicable
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
At the Sweden end
- Naturvårdsverket registration of the Swedish producer
- Instructions and safety information in the language Sweden requires
- Haulier in Sweden briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
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 Tianjin export filings, the carrier booking and the Sweden 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 Tianjin to Norrkoping, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice or cold spell slows berthing in mid-winter | Bohai Bay, Jan–Feb | Slack between stuffing and cut-off; berthing window reconfirmed | Carrier, monitored by Anxin |
| Feeder lacks the ice class required under winter restrictions | Northern Baltic, winter | Ice class confirmed at booking | Carrier, checked by Anxin |
| Producer not yet registered with Naturvårdsverket | Importer in Sweden | Registration confirmed before booking | Importer |
| Importer details missing from battery and packaging | Importer in Sweden | Address block sent to the factory before packing | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
Questions about shipping from Tianjin to Norrkoping
The importer's: name, registered trade name or trade mark and postal address with a contact point, on the battery or, if it is too small, on the packaging or accompanying document.
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
Official sources for this page
- Förordning (2025:813) med kompletterande bestämmelser till EU-förordningen om batterier (Sveriges riksdag)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (Official Journal PDF) (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)
- Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources 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 Tianjin
- 5ImportClearance at Norrkoping
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Norrkoping before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Tianjin · Sweden ports
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