Asia – Baltic via the Danish straits
The Baltic is reached only through the Danish straits, where deep-draught ships are advised to take pilots, and its northern ports set ice-class restrictions every winter.
Europe · sea freight from Guangzhou
Guangzhou to Ventspils
South China Sea · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits
This route runs out of Nansha, at the mouth of the Pearl River, then follows a long Europe voyage extended through the Danish straits into the Baltic; at the far end is the port of Ventspils.
The Latvia side follows the EU battery and customs pre-filing 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
The Baltic is reached only through the Danish straits, where deep-draught ships are advised to take pilots, and its northern ports set ice-class restrictions every winter.
The EU Battery Regulation's national registration, CE marking and label duties, and the ICS2 entry summary before loading.


Where this route gets difficult
Listed from loading in Guangzhou to import into Latvia, each with what we do about it.
The Hong Kong Observatory puts the region's tropical cyclone season from June to October, busiest July to September. Nansha sits at the mouth of the Pearl River; a closed gate or a changed vessel means the DG filings and the packing certificate have to follow the box to a new sailing.
What Anxin does: From June to October we leave slack between stuffing and the DG cut-off at Nansha and refile quickly if the vessel changes.
At a July 2024 meeting on energy-storage carriage, Nansha MSA recommended shipping ESS batteries at a state of charge of around 25% and preventing accidental activation. It is a recommendation rather than a fixed rule, but it is the figure the local authority has put on record.
What Anxin does: For ESS cargo leaving Nansha we ask the manufacturer to state the shipping state of charge and the anti-activation measures in writing, and put both in the documents the carrier sees.
Up to the Danish straits the voyage matches North Europe's: Sea-Intelligence put Red Sea routing at 27% for North Europe services in September 2026, so most containers still sail round the Cape of Good Hope, where SAMSA estimates about 35% of the containers lost in 2024 went overboard.
What Anxin does: We quote the Suez and Cape routings separately when both are offered and apply the CINS stuffing checks strictly on Cape sailings.
Two marking dates fall into current shipping plans for Latvia: 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 Latvia 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 Latvia 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 Ventspils.
What Anxin does: We pass the Latvia 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.

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.

We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Guangzhou filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for Latvia before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Ventspils.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typhoon closure after filings are made | Nansha, Jun–Oct | Slack in stuffing date; prompt refiling | Anxin with the declarant |
| Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026 | Importer in Latvia | Label status confirmed before booking | Manufacturer / importer |
| Importer details missing from battery and packaging | Importer in Latvia | Address block sent to the factory before packing | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
The importer's: name, registered trade name or trade mark and postal address with a contact point, on the battery or, if it is too small, on the packaging or accompanying document.
Yes, but in the restriction period only ships of the required ice class and deadweight receive icebreaker assistance. Finland's agency publishes the restrictions on baltice.org, with exemption requests due at least three working days before arrival.
Nansha MSA has recommended around 25% for ESS batteries and measures against accidental activation. Treat it as the local authority's recommendation; the carrier's own acceptance conditions also apply.
References
Next step
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We check carrier acceptance for Guangzhou → Ventspils before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Guangzhou · Latvia ports

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