Transpacific (North Pacific)
A North Pacific crossing with no canal or chokepoint risk, but with a record of winter storms strong enough to collapse container stacks.
North America · sea freight from Xiamen
Shipping from Xiamen to Everett
Xiamen to Everett
Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific · Strait of Juan de Fuca
- XiamenChina origin
- Taiwan Strait
- East China Sea
- North Pacific
- Strait of Juan de Fuca
- EverettUnited States
This route runs from Fujian's battery makers through Xiamen port, then follows a North Pacific corridor with no canal or chokepoint; at the far end is the port of Everett.
The United States applies Section 301 and UFLPA scrutiny to Chinese lithium batteries and wants its manifest data before loading. 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
- Online packaging appraisal
- Taiwan Strait monsoon Oct–Apr
- ISF filer
- Supply-chain tracing file
- HTS code 8507.60
Route profile
The Xiamen → Everett route in brief
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
6 points to plan for on the Xiamen → Everett route
Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Everett and the United States market.
- Origin port
Xiamen MSA's 'one ship, one plan' for large battery cargo
Xiamen MSA offers pre-review of key DG documents, a pre-loading meeting at which ship, cargo owner, terminal and agent agree deck stowage and emergency measures, and a 'one ship, one plan' checklist from gate-in to sailing. In June 2026 it reported 104 energy-storage containers of 36 tonnes each loaded for Houston on a multipurpose ship.
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.
- Origin port
Xiamen's fast appraisal needs matching data
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.
- Sea corridor
An open-ocean crossing where weather is the main risk
From Xiamen the drawn corridor to Everett runs across the North Pacific without a canal or Red Sea passage, so weather replaces chokepoints as the risk. The ONE Apus, bound from Yantian to Long Beach in November 2020, had a stack collapse in a storm about 1,600 nautical miles north-west of Hawaii; her owners said more than 1,900 containers could be lost or damaged, up to 40 of them hazmat.
What Anxin does: For winter sailings especially, we review blocking and bracing on stuffing photos against the CINS points before sealing, and make sure the DG declaration is complete, so a damaged box can be identified and handled correctly.
- Import country
The emergency response number has to be answered live
US rules want a numeric emergency response telephone number on the shipping paper for battery cargo that leaves Everett by road, monitored for as long as the goods are in transport and answered by a person with the emergency information for UN3480 or UN3090. A call-back service fails the test (49 CFR 172.604); only the IMDG waiver for cargo that never touches a public highway avoids it.
What Anxin does: Before sailing we confirm who provides the 24-hour number for the US leg, usually the importer's emergency response provider, and put it with the contract reference on the DG documents we send to the trucker.
- Import country
Unentered battery containers go to General Order after 15 days
A container landed at Everett without a release permit may stay at the terminal only until the 15th calendar day. The carrier must then notify CBP and a bonded general order warehouse, which moves and stores the goods at the consignee's risk and expense (19 CFR 4.37). Not every general order warehouse can take Class 9 battery cargo, and where specialized storage is missing the port director decides where it goes.
What Anxin does: We check with the importer's broker that the entry can be filed before arrival at Everett, and chase any missing invoice or HTS detail while the ship is still at sea.
- Import country
Washington battery stewardship starts in 2027
From 1 January 2027 producers selling covered batteries or battery-containing products in or into Washington must be in an approved stewardship plan through a battery stewardship organization, or they may not sell there (RCW 70A.555). From 1 July 2027 retailers may not stock portable batteries unless the producer certifies it participates.
What Anxin does: When cargo through Everett is sold in Washington, we flag the 2027 stewardship requirement to the importer at quotation so that retailer certification is in place in time.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Xiamen → Everett
Test reports, safety data sheets and import certificates come from the shipper, factory and importer, not from Anxin; our part is to review them before booking.
In Xiamen, before the box is loaded
- Packaging appraisal data (product, UN38.3 summary, packaging codes) checked before single-window submission
- For ESS: carriage type (container ship or multipurpose), class 9 terminal and pre-voyage meeting confirmed
- Load plan showing even weight distribution (no more than 60% of the cargo weight in either half of the container length)
- 'Made in China' marking on articles or containers checked on photos
- Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report
For the carrier and the voyage
- Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
- Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)
- Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
For the importer in United States
- 24-hour emergency response number (and provider reference) for the US road leg
- ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
- HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
Before you book
One consistent file
A document that is present but inconsistent holds a booking as surely as a missing one: the UN number, model name or carton count reads differently in the Xiamen export filings, the carrier booking and the United States import papers. We compare all three before confirming space.
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 Xiamen → Everett
| 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 |
| Stack collapse or cargo shift in a North Pacific storm | Mid-Pacific | Blocking and bracing checked before sealing; complete DG data for incident response | Packing site / carrier, checked by Anxin |
| Truck stopped without a monitored emergency number | Road leg from the port | Emergency response provider confirmed before sailing | Importer, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Common questions on the Xiamen → Everett route
No. The carrier must also send its cargo declaration through AMS 24 hours before loading, and CBP will not issue the permit to unlade without it.
Weather is the main risk on this crossing: NOAA recorded hurricane-force North Pacific storms from October to April, most often in December. We tighten the packing checks for those sailings.
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
Official sources for this page
- 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- 19 CFR 149.2 – Importer security filing: requirement and time of transmission (eCFR / CBP)
- 19 CFR 4.7: inward foreign manifest; advance filing of cargo declaration (24 hours before lading) (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, Sept 2024) (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative)
- 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)
- Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
- Container ship ONE Apus; North Pacific Ocean (incident record) (NOAA IncidentNews)
- Xiamen Customs smart supervision of lithium battery dangerous-goods packaging (Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and IT (from Fujian Daily))
- Faster clearance for Fujian lithium battery exports (Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and IT)
- 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 Everett
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Xiamen → Everett before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Xiamen · United States ports
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