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 Grays Harbor
Xiamen to Grays Harbor
Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific
- XiamenChina origin
- Taiwan Strait
- East China Sea
- North Pacific
- Grays HarborUnited States
From Xiamen to Grays Harbor, cargo moves through Xiamen, the port for more than 90% of Fujian's lithium battery exports, crosses a North Pacific corridor with no canal or chokepoint, and is discharged at the port of Grays Harbor.
Grays Harbor means US customs filings that are due while the container is still in Xiamen, and a supply chain CBP may ask to see. 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
- Taiwan Strait monsoon Oct–Apr
- Xiamen export
- Supply-chain tracing file
- HTS code 8507.60
- ISF filer
Route profile
The Xiamen → Grays Harbor route in brief
Transpacific (North Pacific)
A great-circle route across the North Pacific, exposed to hurricane-force winter storms from October to April.
Where this route gets difficult
5 points to plan for on the Xiamen → Grays Harbor route
They run from the Xiamen terminal through the voyage to Grays Harbor and the United States import file.
- 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.
- Sea corridor
No chokepoint, but North Pacific storms
The drawn corridor from Xiamen crosses the North Pacific, with no canal and no Red Sea exposure. Weather is the risk instead. In November 2020 the ONE Apus, sailing from Yantian to Long Beach, suffered a stack collapse in a storm about 1,600 nautical miles north-west of Hawaii; its owners reported that more than 1,900 containers could be lost or damaged, including up to 40 hazmat boxes.
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
A US-only carton mark for SP188 shipments
Packages of UN3480 or UN3090 moving under IMDG special provision 188 skip the DG declaration at sea, yet 49 CFR 171.25(b)(3) still wants the 'FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT' mark or a Cargo Aircraft Only label on each one, and on packages of batteries with or in equipment over 5 kg net.
What Anxin does: When the shipper declares SP188 for a Grays Harbor booking, we check the carton photos for the US marking or CAO label before stuffing, not after discharge.
- 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 Grays Harbor is sold in Washington, we flag the 2027 stewardship requirement to the importer at quotation so that retailer certification is in place in time.
- Import country
The FMC's 30-day rules on demurrage and detention bills
If a battery container waits at Grays Harbor, 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.
Documents & compliance
Checklist for Xiamen → Grays Harbor
Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; 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
- '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
- 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
Carrier and voyage
- Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
- 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
- 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
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 United States 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
What could go wrong from Xiamen to Grays Harbor, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESS unit arrives at a terminal without class 9 qualification | Xiamen port | Qualified terminal confirmed at booking | Anxin with the carrier |
| 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 |
| SP188 cartons without the US marking | Discharge and onward trucking | Marking or CAO label checked on carton photos before stuffing | Shipper, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Xiamen → Grays Harbor: 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.
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.
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 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- 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)
- 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 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 Grays Harbor
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Xiamen → Grays Harbor before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Xiamen · United States ports
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