Europe · sea freight from Tianjin

Shipping from Tianjin to Izmit (Kocaeli)

Tianjin to Izmit (Kocaeli)

Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Bosporus

TianjinChina origin
Bohai Sea
Bohai Strait
Taiwan Strait
Malacca Strait
Indian Ocean
Bab-el-Mandeb
Suez Canal
Bosporus
Izmit (Kocaeli)Turkey

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.

This route runs 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, then follows a corridor through the Turkish Straits; at the far end is the port of Izmit (Kocaeli).

Türkiye wants the entry summary declaration 24 hours before the container is loaded in China. 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

Factory-supervised loading
Bohai Bay winter ice
TAREKS application
CE declaration of conformity
Özet beyan 24 h before loading

Ask about this route Turkey ports from Tianjin

Route profile

What sets Tianjin → Izmit (Kocaeli) apart

Origin port

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.

Import country

Türkiye

The Turkish entry summary is due before loading in China, and the importer's TAP, TAREKS and GEKAP duties come before sale.

Where this route gets difficult

5 points to plan for on the Tianjin → Izmit (Kocaeli) route

Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Izmit (Kocaeli) and the Turkey market.

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.
Origin port
At Tianjin the port slot is booked before the truck leaves the factory
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.
Sea corridor
Turkish Straits: Sailing Plan 1 a day ahead
Before entering the Turkish Straits, a ship with dangerous cargo files Sailing Plan 1 with the Turkish Straits VTS at least 24 hours ahead, listing the dangerous goods classes on board. A class 9 battery container is part of that list, so wrong or late DG data on the manifest can delay the ship at the entrance.
What Anxin does: We make sure the DG manifest data (UN number, class, quantity, container number) are final and match the booking before the vessel leaves the last port before the straits.
Import country
CE evidence and an invoice in triplicate
For products under EU CE-marking directives, Türkiye asks for evidence of CE marking, either a notified-body certificate or a manufacturer's declaration of conformity citing the directives and harmonised standards. The commercial invoice goes in triplicate with HS code and origin, the certificate of origin must have no corrections, and the original bill of lading plus three copies must match.
What Anxin does: We check the declaration of conformity, invoice and certificate of origin against each other before the originals are sent to the importer in Turkey.
Import country
Özet beyan filed before the box is loaded
For Izmit (Kocaeli), Turkish customs wants the entry summary declaration 24 hours before loading in China, filed electronically to the office of discharge; the carrier is answerable for third-party filings, and an arrival notification follows when the ship docks.
What Anxin does: We give the carrier or filer the consignee details, HS-level description and DG data at booking, well before the Tianjin cut-off.

Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (40.77°N, 29.92°E).

Blue container gantry cranes on a quay at the Port of Algeciras

Documents & compliance

Documents to line up for Tianjin → Izmit (Kocaeli)

Test reports, safety data sheets and import certificates come from the shipper, factory and importer, not from Anxin; our part is to review them before booking.

Before loading in Tianjin

Stuffing date, port-entry slot and DG cut-off at Tianjin agreed in that order
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)
Invoice in triplicate with HS code and origin; certificate of origin without corrections
Battery type, quantity and weight per invoice line (for GEKAP)

Carrier and voyage

Final DG manifest data ready before the vessel reaches the Turkish Straits
Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)

At the Turkey end

Declaration of conformity and test reports for the TAREKS inspection
Importer's TAP membership and Çevre Uyum İzni (TAREKS)

Warehouse with red racking and pallets of boxes

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 Turkey import papers. We compare all three before confirming space.

Carriers we book with

and 16 more

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 Izmit (Kocaeli), and who acts

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
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
Incorrect DG data in the straits sailing plan	Turkish Straits	Manifest checked against the booking	Carrier, with data from Anxin
Entry summary late and the box is not loaded	Loading port, Tianjin	Filing data passed at booking	Carrier / filer

Questions

Tianjin → Izmit (Kocaeli): questions we are asked

At least 24 hours before the container is loaded at the departure port in China, filed electronically to the customs office of discharge.

A Sailing Plan 1 to the Turkish Straits VTS at least 24 hours before entry, including the dangerous cargo classes on board.

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

Sıkça sorulan sorular: Özet beyan (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı)
Türkiye: Import Requirements and Documentation (last published 2026-01-29) (International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce)
Turkish Straits Maritime Traffic Regulation (English translation) (Republic of Türkiye (translation published by VDA))
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))

Next step

From enquiry to import

1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
4HandoverAt Tianjin
5ImportClearance at Izmit (Kocaeli)

Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

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After you send it

We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Izmit (Kocaeli) before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Tianjin · Turkey ports

Trailers backed up to the loading docks of a warehouse

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