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Shipping from Qingdao to Burgas

Qingdao to Burgas

Yellow Sea · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Bosporus · Black Sea

Sea corridor illustration: Qingdao to Burgas, Bulgaria Simplified map with a curved corridor from Qingdao via Yellow Sea, Taiwan Strait, Malacca Strait, Indian Ocean, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Bosporus, Black Sea to Burgas. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIASOUTHEAST ASIACENTRAL ASIASOUTH CHINA SEA Taiwan StraitSingapore / MalaccaSouth of Sri LankaBab-el-MandebSuez Canal QingdaoCHINA ORIGIN BurgasBULGARIA QingdaoYELLOW SEASHANDONGJIANGSUDEPARTURE AREA
  1. QingdaoChina origin
  2. Yellow Sea
  3. Taiwan Strait
  4. Malacca Strait
  5. Indian Ocean
  6. Bab-el-Mandeb
  7. Suez Canal
  8. Bosporus
  9. Black Sea
  10. BurgasBulgaria
Geographic corridor illustration only, not a vessel track, port-call list or sailing schedule. The loading terminal, carrier, transshipment and dates are confirmed per shipment.

From Qingdao to Burgas, cargo moves out of Qingdao on the Yellow Sea, crosses a Suez, Aegean and Bosporus passage into the Black Sea, and is discharged at the port of Burgas.

The Bulgaria side follows the EU battery and customs pre-filing rules. 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

  • Qianwan export
  • One-document pilot
  • National producer registration
  • EU declaration of conformity
  • Consignee EORI
Ask about this route Bulgaria ports from Qingdao

Route profile

How Qingdao → Burgas differs from other lanes

Origin port

Qingdao (Qianwan)

Qianwan exports from Shandong, where Qingdao MSA's one-document pilot cuts repeat filings for cargo moved between terminals by water.

Sea corridor

Asia – Black Sea via Suez and the Turkish Straits

Suez, the Aegean and the Turkish Straits, with a 24-hour DG sailing plan before the Bosporus and, since September 2026, almost the whole Black Sea on the war-risk list.

Aerial view over Qingdao's harbour front, with piers and the Dagang port area
A container ship under way off the Guatemalan coast

Where this route gets difficult

5 points to plan for on the Qingdao → Burgas route

Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Burgas and the Bulgaria market.

  1. Origin port

    Moving between Qingdao terminals should not mean filing twice

    Since November 2024 Qingdao MSA's 'one-document, one-box' pilot has covered water-to-water transhipment of lithium batteries and other 'new three' cargo between Dagang and Qianwan: one outbound cargo report and at most one packing inspection inside the pilot ports. In the launch example, filings fell from three cargo plus three ship reports to one cargo plus two ship reports.

    What Anxin does: If your cargo is stuffed at a Dagang yard or reaches Qianwan by water, we check at booking whether it qualifies for the pilot and file once, so the box is not reopened between terminals.

  2. Sea corridor

    A dangerous-cargo sailing plan 24 hours before the Bosporus

    Ships carrying dangerous cargo must file a Sailing Plan 1 with the Turkish Straits VTS at least 24 hours before entering the straits, declaring the dangerous goods classes on board. A class 9 battery container is part of that declaration, so late or wrong DG data on the manifest can hold the ship up at the entrance.

    What Anxin does: We make sure the DG manifest data (UN number, class, quantity, container number) are final and match the booking before the vessel leaves the last port before the straits.

  3. Import country

    The truck leg out of Burgas runs under ADR

    Once the container leaves the terminal by road, ADR applies: Directive 2008/68/EC makes EU countries use it for domestic dangerous goods journeys as well as international ones. UN 3480 is class 9, transport category 2, with tunnel restriction code (E), so the haulier in Bulgaria has to plan around category E tunnels, and damaged or defective batteries fall under special provision 376 and packing instructions P908 or P911 instead of P903.

    What Anxin does: We give the Bulgaria haulier the same UN number, class and package details that appear on the sea dangerous goods declaration, so the ADR transport document matches the container paperwork from Qingdao.

  4. Import country

    Battery label from August 2026, QR code from February 2027

    Two marking dates fall into current shipping plans for Bulgaria: 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 Bulgaria 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.

  5. Import country

    Mercury, cadmium and lead limits in portable batteries

    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 Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria importer; we do not test batteries.

Locator map of Burgas, BulgariaBurgas
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (42.48°N, 27.48°E).
Aerial view of a container yard with rows of colourful containers at the Port of Barcelona

Documents & compliance

Checklist for Qingdao → Burgas

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.

At the Qingdao end

  • Confirmation whether the Dagang–Qianwan one-document pilot applies; a single cargo report filed at the first port of loading
  • Importer name, trade name and postal address printed on battery or packaging
  • Annex V safety documentation confirmed for stationary storage systems
  • Substance declaration covering mercury, cadmium and lead limits
  • Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report

For the shipping line

  • Final DG manifest data ready before the vessel reaches the Turkish Straits
  • 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

At the Bulgaria end

  • Label and QR-code status against the August 2026 and February 2027 dates
  • Producer of record in Bulgaria and its national registration number
  • Instructions and safety information in the language Bulgaria requires
A shrink-wrapped lithium-ion battery pack for a small electric vehicle
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 Qingdao filings, the carrier booking and the Bulgaria 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 Qingdao to Burgas, and who acts

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Duplicate filing or reopening between Qingdao terminalsDagang → QianwanPilot eligibility checked at booking; single cargo reportAnxin with the declarant
Incorrect DG data in the straits sailing planTurkish StraitsManifest checked against the bookingCarrier, with data from Anxin
Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026Importer in BulgariaLabel status confirmed before bookingManufacturer / importer
Road route planned through a category E tunnelRoad leg from BurgasTunnel code (E) passed to the haulier with the transport dataHaulier / forwarder

Questions

Qingdao → Burgas: questions we are asked

ADR, which the EU applies to domestic journeys through Directive 2008/68/EC. UN 3480 is class 9, transport category 2, with tunnel restriction code (E).

A Sailing Plan 1 to the Turkish Straits VTS at least 24 hours before entry, including the dangerous cargo classes on board.

Under Qingdao MSA's 'one-document, one-box' pilot (since November 2024), water-to-water transhipment between Dagang and Qianwan needs one outbound cargo report and at most one packing inspection. We confirm eligibility at booking.

References

Where these points come from

  1. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (ELI) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  2. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (Official Journal PDF) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  3. Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
  4. Turkish Straits Maritime Traffic Regulation (English translation) (Republic of Türkiye (translation published by VDA))
  5. 'One-document, one-box' pilot for water-to-water transhipment of new-energy dangerous goods starts in Qingdao (Chinese), 12 November 2024 (China Transport News)

Next step

From enquiry to import

  1. 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
  2. 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
  3. 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
  4. 4HandoverAt Qingdao
  5. 5ImportClearance at Burgas
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Qingdao → Burgas

Origin and destination are filled in; add the cargo facts you have.

Sending this form starts a review; it does not confirm carriage. Full enquiry form

After you send it

We check carrier acceptance for Qingdao → Burgas before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Qingdao · Bulgaria ports

A forklift loading goods into an open shipping container

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