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 Xiamen
Shipping from Xiamen to Turku
Xiamen to Turku
South China Sea · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits
- XiamenChina origin
- South China Sea
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Strait of Gibraltar
- English Channel
- Danish Straits
- TurkuFinland
This route runs through Xiamen, the port for more than 90% of Fujian's lithium battery exports, then follows a long Europe voyage extended through the Danish straits into the Baltic; at the far end is the port of Turku.
Finland keeps its battery producers in a national register at the Finnish Supervisory Agency. 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
- Xiamen export
- Online packaging appraisal
- EU declaration of conformity
- Finnish producer register entry
- Finnish and Swedish safety information
Route profile
The Xiamen → Turku route in brief
Finland
The national producer register at the Finnish Supervisory Agency, a Finnish authorised representative for distance sellers, and the EU-wide battery and ICS2 duties.
Where this route gets difficult
5 points to plan for on the Xiamen → Turku route
They run from the Xiamen terminal through the voyage to Turku and the Finland import file.
- Origin port
Pre-loading meeting and a ship plan at Xiamen
For large battery consignments Xiamen MSA offers pre-review of key DG documents, a pre-loading meeting where ship, cargo owner, terminal and agent agree deck stowage and emergency measures, and a 'one ship, one plan' checklist from gate-in to departure. In June 2026 it reported 104 energy-storage containers of 36 tonnes each loaded on a multipurpose ship for Houston.
What Anxin does: We send the key documents for pre-review before the formal filing and bring the stowage and emergency details the meeting will ask for.
- Sea corridor
Ice-class restrictions in the northern Baltic
Every winter Finland's Transport Infrastructure Agency sets traffic restrictions for its ports: only ships of a stated ice class and deadweight get icebreaker assistance. Exemption requests must be in at least three working days before arrival, and the restrictions for the Baltic are published on baltice.org. A feeder without the right ice class may not be allowed to call at Turku in the restriction period.
What Anxin does: For winter shipments we check the restrictions in force on baltice.org for Turku and ask the carrier to confirm that the final feeder has the required ice class before we book.
- Import country
Instructions and safety information in the language of Finland
Importers must make sure batteries come with instructions and safety information in a language end-users in Finland easily understand, as that Member State decides. Printed inserts and carton text are far easier to change before the goods are packed in China.
What Anxin does: We ask the importer which language Finland requires and check carton and insert photos against it before loading.
- Import country
Due diligence on battery raw materials from August 2027
Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 pushed the Battery Regulation's due diligence duties for cobalt, lithium, nickel and natural graphite back to 18 August 2027 and gave the Commission until 26 July 2026 for its guidelines. Buyers in Finland are already collecting the supply-chain information they will need.
What Anxin does: We pass the Finland buyer's due diligence questions to the manufacturer and keep their answers with the shipment file; the policy itself remains the producer's responsibility.
- Import country
User-replaceable batteries in appliances from 18 February 2027
Article 11 of the Battery Regulation says that from 18 February 2027 portable batteries inside appliances must be readily removable and replaceable by the end-user using commercially available tools, without heat or solvents, except under limited derogations. Appliances sold in Finland after that date need a design that complies.
What Anxin does: When appliances with built-in batteries are booked for Finland we point the importer to the February 2027 date so the manufacturer answers the design question before shipment; we do not assess compliance.
Documents & compliance
What to have ready: Xiamen to Turku
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 Xiamen, before the box is loaded
- For ESS: carriage type (container ship or multipurpose), class 9 terminal and pre-voyage meeting confirmed
- Importer name, trade name and postal address printed on battery or packaging
- Annex V safety documentation confirmed for stationary storage systems
- Substance declaration covering mercury, cadmium and lead limits
- Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report
For the shipping line
- Transhipment port, feeder operator and feeder DG acceptance named on the booking
- 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 Finland
- Instructions and safety information in the language Finland requires
- Finnish producer register entry (or authorised representative)
- Label and QR-code status against the August 2026 and February 2027 dates
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 Xiamen filings, the carrier booking and the Finland 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
Risks on this route and who deals with them
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeder lacks the ice class required under winter restrictions | Northern Baltic, winter | Ice class confirmed at booking | Carrier, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Questions about shipping from Xiamen to Turku
24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Turku. Without it carriers do not load the box, and a filing without an EORI number is rejected.
Yes, but in the restriction period only ships of the required ice class and deadweight receive icebreaker assistance. Finland's agency publishes the restrictions on baltice.org, with exemption requests due at least three working days before arrival.
Yes. Xiamen MSA reported 104 ESS containers of 36 tonnes each loaded for Houston in June 2026. Xiamen's ESS guide 2.0 requires a pre-voyage meeting and use of a class 9 qualified terminal.
References
Regulations and port sources cited
- How does a distance seller manage their extended producer responsibility? (Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto))
- Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 as regards due diligence obligations (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (Official Journal PDF) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- Navigation through Danish waters (version 16.0, 2025) (Danish Maritime Authority)
- Finland's winter navigation 2025–2026 (Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency)
- Xiamen port energy-storage battery transport safety guide 2.0 (Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce)
- Xiamen MSA measures for energy-storage battery exports (Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce)
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Xiamen
- 5ImportClearance at Turku
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Xiamen → Turku before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Xiamen · Finland ports
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