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
Shipping from Tianjin to Immingham
Tianjin to Immingham
Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel
- TianjinChina origin
- Bohai Sea
- Bohai Strait
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Strait of Gibraltar
- English Channel
- ImminghamUnited Kingdom
From Tianjin to Immingham, cargo moves from North China through Tianjin Xingang, crosses a lane whose routing, Suez or Cape of Good Hope, is decided service by service, and is discharged at the port of Immingham.
British importers report battery tonnage and chemistry each year and need a CDS subscription for customs. 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
- Consignee EORI
- EU declaration of conformity
- BPRN
Route profile
How Tianjin → Immingham differs from other lanes
United Kingdom
UK producer registration, a compliance scheme for portable batteries above 1 tonne a year, and import clearance through HMRC's Customs Declaration Service.
Where this route gets difficult
What to watch between Tianjin and Immingham: 5 points
Listed from loading in Tianjin to import into United Kingdom, each with what we do about it.
- Origin port
Tianjin's supervised factory loading and port slots
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.
- Sea corridor
Drawn via Suez, sailed mostly via the Cape
The map on this page shows the corridor through Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez, but Sea-Intelligence figures for September 2026 put Red Sea routing on the Asia–Europe head-haul at 13–25%, with 27% for North Europe services and 57% for the Mediterranean. The service that calls at Immingham decides between Suez and the Cape of Good Hope, and with it the distance, the waters and the possible transhipment ports.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier to state the routing and any transhipment port on the booking confirmation, and we quote the two routings separately when both are on offer rather than mixing them.
- Import country
An S&S GB entry summary 24 hours before loading in Tianjin
The UK's S&S GB service must hold the entry summary for a Immingham container 24 hours before it is loaded in Tianjin. Whoever issued the bill of lading answers for it, and a late booking rolls to a later vessel rather than being loaded unfiled.
What Anxin does: We settle who issues the bill of lading at booking and pass complete consignee and goods data to that party before the Tianjin cut-off.
- Import country
Road haulage from Immingham under the carriage regulations
Once the box is off the quay at Immingham, the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations 2009 apply: regulation 5 requires road carriage of dangerous goods in Great Britain to comply with ADR, subject to GB derogations. For UN 3480 that means class 9 documentation, marked packages and a haulier set up for ADR loads.
What Anxin does: We give the UK haulier the UN number, class and package details from the sea dangerous goods declaration so the road paperwork from Immingham matches what left Tianjin.
- Import country
Tonnage and chemistry reporting through the NPWD
UK battery producers register with the environmental regulator through the National Packaging Waste Database and report every year the tonnage and chemistry of the batteries they placed on the market. Distributors and retailers supplying more than 32 kg a year also have to offer free take-back of waste portable batteries.
What Anxin does: We give the UK importer the battery weight and chemistry for each shipment from our booking data, which it can use for its annual return; the registration itself stays with the producer.
Documents & compliance
Checklist for Tianjin → Immingham
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.
At the Tianjin end
- Stuffing date, port-entry slot and DG cut-off at Tianjin agreed in that order
- Container packing certificate signed by a certified packing inspector after supervised stuffing
- 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)
- Crossed-out bin symbol and mAh/Ah capacity label checked on battery and packaging photos
For the carrier and the voyage
- Routing (Suez or Cape of Good Hope) and any transhipment port stated on the booking confirmation
- Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
- Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
For import into United Kingdom
- UK haulier briefed with UN 3480 class 9 details for road carriage under ADR
- BPRN of the UK producer on invoices and delivery notes
- Battery compliance scheme (or NPWD registration) for portable batteries
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Tianjin filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for United Kingdom before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Immingham.
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 → Immingham
| 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 |
| Service switches between Suez and Cape routing | Main voyage | Routing written on the booking; quotes kept separate per routing; packing assumes the longer voyage | Carrier, tracked by Anxin |
| Entry summary not lodged and the box rolls | Loading port, Tianjin | Filer and data settled at booking | Bill-of-lading issuer |
| Annual tonnage return missing shipments | UK producer | Weight and chemistry recorded per shipment | Importer / producer |
Questions
Common questions on the Tianjin → Immingham route
At least 24 hours before the container is loaded at the departure port. The party that issued the bill of lading is responsible, and a booking made within 24 hours of loading goes on a later vessel.
It depends on the service. In September 2026 most Asia–North Europe capacity still sailed round the Cape of Good Hope; Sea-Intelligence put the Red Sea share for North Europe vessels at 27%. We ask the carrier to confirm the routing on the booking and quote each routing separately.
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
- Safety and security import requirements: entry summary declarations (HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK))
- Waste batteries: producer responsibility (Environment Agency (GOV.UK))
- The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009, regulation 5 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Regulations: waste batteries (GOV.UK (Office for Product Safety and Standards))
- Regulations: batteries and accumulators (placing on the market) (GOV.UK (Office for Product Safety and Standards))
- Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Tianjin
- 5ImportClearance at Immingham
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Immingham before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
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