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.
North America · sea freight from Xiamen
Shipping from Xiamen to Bath
Xiamen to Bath
Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific · Eastern Pacific · Panama Canal · Caribbean Sea · Windward Passage · US East Coast
- XiamenChina origin
- Taiwan Strait
- East China Sea
- North Pacific
- Eastern Pacific
- Panama Canal
- Caribbean Sea
- Windward Passage
- US East Coast
- BathUnited States
This route runs through Xiamen, the port for more than 90% of Fujian's lithium battery exports, then follows the Pacific, the Panama Canal and the Caribbean; at the far end is the port of Bath.
Bath means US customs filings that are due while the container is still in Xiamen, and a supply chain CBP may ask to see. The 6 points below are particular to this lane; each comes with what we do and the paperwork it touches.
What we need to start
- Xiamen export
- Online packaging appraisal
- HTS code 8507.60
- ISF filer
- Supply-chain tracing file
Route profile
How Xiamen → Bath differs from other lanes
United States
US entry hinges on filings made in China (ISF and AMS), a traceable lithium supply chain and a road leg that is regulated as a hazmat move.
Where this route gets difficult
Where Xiamen → Bath shipments get held up: 6 points
Listed from loading in Xiamen to import into United States, each with what we do about it.
- Origin port
Xiamen ESS on multipurpose vessels and class 9 berths
Xiamen's energy-storage transport guide 2.0 (August 2026) notes that some ESS containers sail on multipurpose ships and calls for a pre-voyage meeting with the terminal and lashing contractors. It names the terminals qualified for class 9: Xiamen Hyundai terminal, Yuanhai Tongda, and Haixiang berths 7–8.
What Anxin does: For ESS units we confirm early whether the carrier offers container-ship or multipurpose carriage, which qualified terminal is used, and who attends the pre-voyage meeting.
- Origin port
Strong winds in the Taiwan Strait from day one
Leaving Xiamen, ships are in the Taiwan Strait at once. A Chinese government weather account says the strait's funnel effect adds 1–2 Beaufort levels to the wind, and that the north-east monsoon of winter and spring brings force 7 or more on about two days in three. Lashing on container ships should be secured accordingly.
What Anxin does: From October to April we apply the CINS blocking and bracing checks strictly on stuffing photos before sealing.
- Sea corridor
The Pacific leg before Panama in winter
The first half of the voyage crosses the North Pacific, where NOAA has recorded hurricane-force mid-latitude storms from October to April, most often in December.
What Anxin does: For October–April sailings we check blocking and bracing on stuffing photos before sealing.
- Import country
The FMC's 30-day rules on demurrage and detention bills
If a battery container waits at Bath, the demurrage or detention invoice has to arrive within 30 days and carry accurate and sufficient information, or the charge is not owed (46 CFR part 541). The billed party then has at least 30 days to dispute it; in 2025 the D.C. Circuit struck down only the rule on who may be invoiced.
What Anxin does: We keep the dates of discharge, availability and any DG hold for each container, so the importer can check invoices against them and dispute charges inside the FMC time limits.
- Import country
UFLPA: lithium became a high-priority sector in August 2025
DHS added lithium to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act high-priority sectors in August 2025. By then CBP had stopped more than 16,700 shipments for UFLPA examination. For battery importers the practical effect is that CBP can ask where cells, cathode and lithium compounds came from, and a shipment waits while the importer answers.
What Anxin does: We tell the importer at quotation stage that supply-chain tracing may be requested, and keep manufacturer names and addresses consistent across invoice, packing list and ISF so the paper trail does not contradict itself.
- Import country
The ISF deadline falls before the box is loaded
CBP must have the Importer Security Filing 24 hours before the container is laden in Xiamen, and its liquidated damages guidelines provide for a claim for each late, inaccurate or incomplete filing. The stuffing location and consolidator can only be filled in once the container is packed, which leaves a short window.
What Anxin does: We send the importer's ISF filer the stuffing location, consolidator and manufacturer details as soon as the container is packed in Xiamen, ahead of the vessel's loading window.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Xiamen → Bath
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 Xiamen
- For ESS: carriage type (container ship or multipurpose), class 9 terminal and pre-voyage meeting confirmed
- 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
For the shipping line
- Canal routing and any canal-related surcharge confirmed for the booked vessel
- SP188 cartons: US 'forbidden aboard passenger aircraft' marking or CAO label
- UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
At the United States end
- ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
- CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
- 24-hour emergency response number (and provider reference) for the US road leg
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Xiamen filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for United States before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Bath.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo shift in winter monsoon seas | Taiwan Strait, Oct–Apr | CINS blocking and bracing checked on photos | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| ESS unit arrives at a terminal without class 9 qualification | Xiamen port | Qualified terminal confirmed at booking | Anxin with the carrier |
| UFLPA detention pending supply-chain evidence | CBP at entry | Importer prepares tracing documents before shipping; consistent manufacturer data on all documents | Importer |
| Late or inaccurate ISF | Before loading abroad | Stuffing and consolidator data sent to the ISF filer immediately after packing | Anxin with the ISF filer |
Questions
Xiamen → Bath: questions we are asked
Yes, if the container moves on a public highway. The IMDG waiver in 49 CFR 171.25(d)(2) only covers cargo that stays on the ship or moves between vessels; otherwise 49 CFR 172.604 requires a monitored number answered by someone with the emergency information. Goods shipped as 'Battery powered equipment' are exempt.
It can. In September 2026 the Panama Canal Authority postponed a planned draft cut in the Neopanamax locks because of Gatun Lake levels (advisory A-33-2026). We check the advisory in force when quoting.
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
Official sources for this page
- 19 CFR 149.2 – Importer security filing: requirement and time of transmission (eCFR / CBP)
- 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
- 49 CFR 172.604: Emergency response telephone number (eCFR / PHMSA)
- Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
- DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
- Advisory to Shipping A-33-2026: Postponement of maximum authorized draft adjustment in the Neopanamax locks (Panama Canal Authority)
- Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
- 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)
- Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Xiamen
- 5ImportClearance at Bath
Prefer chat? Chat on WhatsApp (+86 151 4514 5178)
After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Xiamen → Bath before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Xiamen · United States ports
