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
Tianjin to Aliaga
Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Aegean Sea
This route runs from North China through Tianjin Xingang, then follows a Bab el-Mandeb and Suez passage into the Mediterranean; at the far end is the port of Aliaga.
Türkiye checks battery imports through TAREKS before the customs declaration is registered. The 5 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
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.
Mediterranean services are the ones most likely to use Suez again (57% in September 2026), which puts the cargo back through Bab el-Mandeb, rated a SUBSTANTIAL threat.


Where this route gets difficult
Listed from loading in Tianjin to import into Turkey, each with what we do about it.
Under Tianjin Customs' 'supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival' model, officers supervise stuffing at the factory, the declaration is lodged early through the single window, and the box enters the port in a slot booked on the customs–port platform before going straight to the ship; inspections take place in closed yards at the Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals. The gain holds only if stuffing date, slot and declared data agree.
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.
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.
The 43% of Mediterranean services not using the Red Sea sail round the Cape of Good Hope, then back through Gibraltar. SAMSA estimates about 200 of the 576 containers lost at sea in 2024 went overboard near the Cape, 35% of the year's total.
What Anxin does: On Cape sailings we apply the CINS blocking and bracing checks strictly on stuffing photos before sealing.
A battery container landed at Aliaga cannot be declared to customs until the TAREKS import inspection under Communiqué 2017/15 is done; the system selects checks by risk analysis, and the importer answers for compliance.
What Anxin does: We send the importer the manufacturer's declaration of conformity, test reports and product photos before loading, for its TAREKS application.
In Türkiye a distributor may not sell a battery brand that has no collection system behind it and must take back waste batteries free of charge, so the brand's registration decides whether stock can go on sale.
What Anxin does: We ask the importer to confirm the brand is registered in its collection system before the first shipment leaves Tianjin.

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 Turkey 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 |
| Heavy weather off South Africa on a Cape sailing | Cape of Good Hope | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| TAREKS inspection delays the customs declaration | Port of discharge | Conformity documents sent before loading | Importer / manufacturer |
Questions
Yes. Under Communiqué 2017/15 battery imports go through a risk-based TAREKS inspection before the customs declaration is registered.
Often: in September 2026, 57% of Asia–Mediterranean services used the Red Sea routing. Bab el-Mandeb was rated a SUBSTANTIAL threat by the JMIC on 24 September 2026, so we confirm each service's routing before booking.
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 → Aliaga before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Tianjin · Turkey ports

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