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Shipping from Tianjin to Mersin

Tianjin to Mersin

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

Sea corridor illustration: Tianjin to Mersin, Turkey Simplified map with a curved corridor from Tianjin via Bohai Sea, Bohai Strait, Taiwan Strait, Malacca Strait, Indian Ocean, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea to Mersin. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIASOUTHEAST ASIAAFRICASOUTH CHINA SEA Taiwan StraitSingapore / MalaccaSouth of Sri LankaBab-el-MandebSuez Canal TianjinCHINA ORIGIN MersinTURKEY TianjinBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. TianjinChina origin
  2. Bohai Sea
  3. Bohai Strait
  4. Taiwan Strait
  5. Malacca Strait
  6. Indian Ocean
  7. Bab-el-Mandeb
  8. Suez Canal
  9. Mediterranean Sea
  10. MersinTurkey
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.

Lithium batteries for Mersin go through Tianjin, with its Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals on the Bohai Bay. On the way they face a Bab el-Mandeb and Suez passage into the Mediterranean, and they arrive at Mersin, where a battery box declared late as dangerous goods is penalised.

Türkiye checks battery imports through TAREKS before the customs declaration is registered. This page sets out 5 points specific to this route, how Anxin handles each one and which documents to prepare.

What we need to start

  • Tianjin Xingang export
  • Factory-supervised loading
  • Özet beyan 24 h before loading
  • TAP membership + Çevre Uyum İzni
  • TAREKS application
Ask about this route Turkey ports from Tianjin

Route profile

The Tianjin → Mersin route in brief

Destination port

Mersin

IMO class numbers on every loading and discharge list, with a penalty per container when the lists and the box disagree.

Import country

Türkiye

A Turkish entry summary 24 hours before loading in China, TAP membership and a TAREKS environmental permit for battery importers, and GEKAP on batteries placed on the market.

Container gantry cranes at a Tianjin port container terminal
A loaded container ship on the horizon

Where this route gets difficult

5 points to plan for on the Tianjin → Mersin route

Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Mersin and the Turkey market.

  1. 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.

  2. Origin port

    Packaging appraisal comes first, even with Tianjin's quicker release

    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.

  3. Sea corridor

    The round-Africa alternative

    Services that avoid the Red Sea, 43% of the Mediterranean total, go round the Cape of Good Hope and re-enter through Gibraltar. SAMSA estimates that about 200 of the 576 containers lost at sea in 2024, 35% of the total, went overboard near the Cape.

    What Anxin does: On Cape sailings we apply the CINS blocking and bracing checks strictly on stuffing photos before sealing.

  4. Destination port

    IMO class on the lists must match the box

    Mersin International Port wants every dangerous-goods container shown with its IMO class number on both loading and discharge lists, and charges an IMO label penalty per container for any difference between the lists and physical checks, or for a box declared dangerous only after discharge. A class 9 container booked as general cargo is caught this way.

    What Anxin does: We book lithium batteries as class 9 from the start and check the placards in the sealed-container photos, so the discharge list for Mersin and the box agree.

  5. Import country

    TAP membership, then a TAREKS environmental permit

    Battery importers in Türkiye have to join TAP, the Ministry-authorised association for portable battery producers and importers, or its system. TAP's board decides within 30 days; only then can the importer apply through TAREKS for the Ministry's environmental compliance permit (Çevre Uyum İzni).

    What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Turkish importer for its TAP membership and permit status, so a first-time importer starts the 30-day process before the goods leave Tianjin.

Locator map of Mersin, TurkeyMersin
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (36.80°N, 34.63°E).
Blue container gantry cranes on a quay at the Port of Algeciras

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Tianjin to Mersin

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.

Before loading in Tianjin

  • Packaging use-appraisal certificate issued before the MSA cargo report is filed
  • 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

Carrier and voyage

  • Routing (Red Sea or Cape) and any war-risk surcharge stated on the booking
  • Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
  • Class 9 on the booking and discharge list, matching the placards

For import into Turkey

  • Importer's TAP membership and Çevre Uyum İzni (TAREKS)
  • Declaration of conformity and test reports for the TAREKS inspection
Cartons on a pallet being stretch-wrapped
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 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 table for Tianjin → Mersin

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
Heavy weather off South Africa on a Cape sailingCape of Good HopeCINS stuffing checksPacking site, checked by Anxin
IMO label penalty for a list mismatchMersin International PortClass 9 booked and placarded from originCarrier / shipper
Importer not in a collection system; no environmental permitTurkish importerTAP and permit status checked before bookingImporter

Questions

Questions about shipping from Tianjin to Mersin

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

Regulations and port sources cited

  1. Türkiye: Import Requirements and Documentation (last published 2026-01-29) (International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce)
  2. JMIC Update 099 to Advisory Note (Joint Maritime Information Center (via UKMTO))
  3. Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
  4. Tianjin port 2025 cross-border trade facilitation measures (Tianjin Municipal Government (tjjz.gov.cn))
  5. Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources News))
  6. 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 Mersin
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Tianjin → Mersin

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

All destinations from Tianjin · Turkey ports

A forklift moving palletised cartons in a warehouse

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Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.

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