Xiamen (Haicang / Songyu)
Fujian's battery gateway, handling more than 90% of the province's lithium battery exports, with 10-minute online packaging appraisal for compliant products and the Taiwan Strait's winter monsoon on the doorstep.
Europe · sea freight from Xiamen
Xiamen to Gijón
South China Sea · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Sicily Channel · Strait of Gibraltar · Bay of Biscay
Lithium batteries for Gijón go out of Xiamen's Haicang and Songyu terminals on the Taiwan Strait. On the way they face a Bab el-Mandeb and Suez passage into the Mediterranean, and they arrive at the port of Gijón.
Spain wants the producer on the RII-PYA register, with its number on the invoice. This page sets out 6 points specific to this route, how Anxin handles each one and which documents to prepare.
What we need to start
Route profile
Fujian's battery gateway, handling more than 90% of the province's lithium battery exports, with 10-minute online packaging appraisal for compliant products and the Taiwan Strait's winter monsoon on the doorstep.
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
In the order the cargo meets them: at the loading port, at sea, at Gijón and at customs in Spain.
Through the single window, Xiamen Customs now issues the lithium battery packaging use-appraisal certificate after automatic pre-review matching: roughly 10 minutes in a case reported in August 2026, compared with about half a day for the former on-site inspection. Only products that pass pre-review as compliant and valid get the fast path; mismatches return to inspection.
What Anxin does: We check the product data, UN38.3 summary and packaging codes against the application before it is submitted, so the certificate comes through pre-review rather than falling back to an on-site check.
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.
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.
Two marking dates fall into current shipping plans for Spain: the general label from 18 August 2026 and the QR code from 18 February 2027, which for EV, LMT and larger industrial batteries has to open the battery passport.
What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Spain importer to confirm the battery category and whether the label and QR-code elements are already on the goods, and compare carton photos with that answer.
A battery entering Spain has to identify its importer: name, registered trade name or trade mark, postal address and a contact point belong on the battery itself, or on the packaging or accompanying document when the battery is too small. That text is fixed at the factory, not at Gijón.
What Anxin does: We pass the Spain importer's name and address block to the manufacturer before the goods are packed in China and check carton or battery photos for it before loading.
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 Spain are already collecting the supply-chain information they will need.
What Anxin does: We pass the Spain buyer's due diligence questions to the manufacturer and keep their answers with the shipment file; the policy itself remains the producer's responsibility.

Documents & compliance
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.

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 Spain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fails pre-review and falls back to on-site inspection | Xiamen Customs | Data checked against the application first | Anxin with the manufacturer |
| Heavy weather off South Africa on a Cape sailing | Cape of Good Hope | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026 | Importer in Spain | Label status confirmed before booking | Manufacturer / importer |
| Importer details missing from battery and packaging | Importer in Spain | Address block sent to the factory before packing | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
ADR, which the EU applies to domestic journeys through Directive 2008/68/EC. UN 3480 is class 9, transport category 2, with tunnel restriction code (E).
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.
For products that pass automatic pre-review, Xiamen Customs issues it through the single window; the case reported in August 2026 took about 10 minutes, against about half a day for the old on-site inspection. Products that do not pass pre-review still need inspection.
References
Next step
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We check carrier acceptance for Xiamen → Gijón before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Xiamen · Spain ports

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