Guangzhou (Nansha)
Pearl River Delta battery cargo through Nansha, where a September 2026 agreement lets Dongguan-inspected containers load without a second MSA check, and where typhoon season runs June to October.
Europe · sea freight from Guangzhou
Guangzhou to Dieppe
South China Sea · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · Celtic Sea · English Channel
This route runs from the Pearl River Delta via Nansha, then follows a voyage that may run through Suez as drawn or round the Cape, depending on the service; at the far end is the port of Dieppe.
The French side checks the producer's unique identifier (IDU) as well as the EU battery rules. 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
Route profile
Pearl River Delta battery cargo through Nansha, where a September 2026 agreement lets Dongguan-inspected containers load without a second MSA check, and where typhoon season runs June to October.
A SYDEREP IDU and eco-organisme membership for every battery category, with EU duties from CE marking to the importer's address on the battery.


Where this route gets difficult
They run from the Guangzhou terminal through the voyage to Dieppe and the France import file.
Since 22 September 2026 Guangzhou MSA accepts Dongguan MSA's factory inspection for boxes loading at Nansha and re-inspects only when necessary. The first container was stuffed in Dongguan that day and left Nansha for Singapore on 24 September. Because the arrangement is new at Nansha, the factory record needs to be correct the first time.
What Anxin does: We ask at booking whether your Dongguan factory can use the Nansha one-box arrangement and make sure the stuffing photos, packing certificate and DG declaration match, because a mismatch is the 'necessary' case that brings the second inspection back.
Routing round Africa takes battery boxes past the Cape. The World Shipping Council counted 576 containers lost at sea in 2024, and the South African Maritime Safety Authority estimates around 200 of them, about 35%, were lost near the Cape; in August 2024 SAMSA reported 99 boxes lost from the CMA CGM Belem off Richards Bay and 46 from the MSC Antonio off Port St Johns in winter weather.
What Anxin does: When the booking goes via the Cape, we apply the CINS stuffing checks (gaps, blocking, wall clearance) more strictly and ask for photos at every stage of packing.
Annex I of the Battery Regulation caps mercury at 0.0005 %, cadmium at 0.002 % and lead at 0.01 % by weight in portable batteries, and the lead limit has applied since 18 August 2024. Market surveillance in France can ask the importer to show that the goods meet these limits.
What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer for its substance declaration or test report reference and file it with the shipping documents for the France importer; we do not test batteries.
The Battery Regulation's general information label applies from 18 August 2026 (or 18 months after the label implementing act, if later), and every battery needs a QR code from 18 February 2027, linked to a battery passport for EV, LMT and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Where the battery is too small, both go on the packaging and accompanying documents.
What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the France 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.
The Battery Regulation's due diligence obligations on cobalt, lithium, nickel and natural graphite were postponed by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 and now apply from 18 August 2027, with Commission guidelines due by 26 July 2026. Buyers in France are already asking suppliers for the supply-chain data they will need.
What Anxin does: We pass the France 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
Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; 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 Guangzhou filings, the carrier booking and the France 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second inspection at Nansha because factory records are incomplete | Dongguan factory → Nansha | Photos, packing certificate and declaration matched before trucking | Anxin |
| Heavy weather off South Africa | Cape of Good Hope | CINS stuffing and blocking checks before sealing | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026 | Importer in France | Label status confirmed before booking | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Dieppe. Without it carriers do not load the box, and a filing without an EORI number is rejected.
Ships of 5,000 GT and above calling at EU ports are in the EU Emissions Trading System, covering 50% of the emissions of a voyage from outside the EU. Lines must surrender allowances for 70% of 2025 emissions and 100% from 2027, and may pass the cost on as a surcharge.
Both now have a one-box arrangement with Dongguan MSA: Yantian since May 2026 and Nansha since 22 September 2026, so a container inspected at the factory need not be reopened at the terminal unless necessary. The choice then comes down to the carrier's service to your destination and the cut-offs; we compare both when you book.
References
Next step
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We check carrier acceptance for Guangzhou → Dieppe before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Guangzhou · France ports

Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.
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