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Europe · sea freight from Shanghai

Shipping from Shanghai to Pasaia

Shanghai to Pasaia

East China Sea · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · Bay of Biscay

Sea corridor illustration: Shanghai to Pasaia, Spain Simplified map with a curved corridor from Shanghai via East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, Malacca Strait, Indian Ocean, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar, Bay of Biscay to Pasaia. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIASOUTHEAST ASIAAFRICAEUROPEINDIAN OCEAN Singapore / MalaccaSouth of Sri LankaBab-el-MandebSuez CanalGibraltar ShanghaiCHINA ORIGIN PasaiaSPAIN ShanghaiEAST CHINA SEAJIANGSUZHEJIANGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. ShanghaiChina origin
  2. East China Sea
  3. Taiwan Strait
  4. Malacca Strait
  5. Indian Ocean
  6. Bab-el-Mandeb
  7. Suez Canal
  8. Strait of Gibraltar
  9. Bay of Biscay
  10. PasaiaSpain
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.

Lithium batteries for Pasaia go through Yangshan or Waigaoqiao under Shanghai MSA's photo-verified packing rules. On the way they face a voyage that may run through Suez as drawn or round the Cape, depending on the service, and they arrive at the port of Pasaia.

Spain wants the producer on the RII-PYA register, with its number on the invoice. 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

  • Photo-verified packing certificate
  • Yangshan / Waigaoqiao export
  • Consignee EORI
  • EU declaration of conformity
  • RII-PYA number
Ask about this route Spain ports from Shanghai

Route profile

What sets Shanghai → Pasaia apart

Sea corridor

Asia – North & Atlantic Europe

The map shows the Suez corridor, but in September 2026 most Asia–North Europe capacity still sails round the Cape of Good Hope.

Import country

Spain

RII-PYA registration with its number on every invoice, quarterly market data including batteries inside equipment, and the EU-wide CE and label duties.

Yangshan deep-water port near Shanghai seen from a hillside, with container stacks and gantry cranes
A cargo ship at anchor in calm water under a clear sky

Where this route gets difficult

Where Shanghai → Pasaia shipments get held up: 5 points

Listed from loading in Shanghai to import into Spain, each with what we do about it.

  1. Origin port

    Not every Shanghai warehouse can stuff lithium DG

    Shanghai MSA's 2024 draft reporting guide says warehouses that stuff lithium battery dangerous goods must provide fire-department proof of their fire hazard classification and fire-resistance rating. The site's information must also be up to date on the Shanghai single window, which took over MSA account and site records in 2026.

    What Anxin does: We only propose stuffing sites that can show the fire-safety documents and are on Shanghai MSA's system; if you use your own warehouse, we check this before booking.

  2. Sea corridor

    Cape waters saw about a third of 2024's container losses

    Round-Africa routing puts battery containers through South African waters. Of the 576 containers the World Shipping Council recorded as lost at sea in 2024, the South African Maritime Safety Authority estimates about 200, roughly 35%, went overboard near the Cape. In August 2024 alone, SAMSA reported 99 boxes lost from the CMA CGM Belem off Richards Bay and 46 from the MSC Antonio off Port St Johns in wintry 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.

  3. Import country

    The truck leg out of Pasaia runs under ADR

    Road delivery from Pasaia is an ADR movement, because the EU applies ADR to domestic journeys through Directive 2008/68/EC. For UN 3480 that means class 9, transport category 2 and tunnel code (E), which restricts the route through category E tunnels; batteries found damaged at unloading move to special provision 376 packing (P908 or P911).

    What Anxin does: We give the Spain 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 Shanghai.

  4. Import country

    Quarterly declarations include built-in batteries

    Loose cells and batteries built into electrical equipment, removable or not, both fall under the Spanish register. Declarations are quarterly, errors can be corrected until 25 January of the following year, and changes to registration data must be updated within a month.

    What Anxin does: When batteries travel inside devices we list battery quantity and chemistry separately on the packing list, so the importer can report them without reopening cartons.

  5. Import country

    Substance limits for portable batteries

    For portable batteries, Annex I sets maximum levels of 0.0005 % mercury, 0.002 % cadmium and 0.01 % lead by weight, the lead limit applying since 18 August 2024. The importer in Spain may be asked by market surveillance to demonstrate compliance.

    What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer for its substance declaration or test report reference and file it with the shipping documents for the Spain importer; we do not test batteries.

Locator map of Pasaia, SpainPasaia
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (43.33°N, 1.93°W).
Aerial view of a container yard with rows of colourful containers at the Port of Barcelona

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Shanghai to Pasaia

Anxin reviews documents supplied by the shipper, manufacturer and importer; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.

At the Shanghai end

  • Stuffing site registered and geo-verified with Shanghai MSA; fire-safety proof for lithium DG warehouses
  • Substance declaration covering mercury, cadmium and lead limits
  • 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

  • Routing (Suez or Cape of Good Hope) and any transhipment port stated on the booking confirmation
  • Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
  • Consignee EORI and HS-level description to the ENS filer before loading

For import into Spain

  • Haulier in Spain briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
  • RII-PYA registration number of the Spanish producer
  • Label and QR-code status against the August 2026 and February 2027 dates
A cylindrical lithium-ion cell held between two fingers
Before you book

Match the details first

We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Shanghai filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for Spain before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Pasaia.

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

Risks on this route and who deals with them

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Heavy weather off South AfricaCape of Good HopeCINS stuffing and blocking checks before sealingPacking site, checked by Anxin
Embedded batteries left out of the quarterly declarationImporter in SpainBattery data on the packing listImporter
Road route planned through a category E tunnelRoad leg from PasaiaTunnel code (E) passed to the haulier with the transport dataHaulier / forwarder

Questions

Questions about shipping from Shanghai to Pasaia

24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Pasaia. Without it carriers do not load the box, and a filing without an EORI number is rejected.

It depends on the service. In September 2026 most Asia–North Europe capacity still sailed round the Cape of Good Hope; Sea-Intelligence put the Red Sea share for North Europe vessels at 27%. We ask the carrier to confirm the routing on the booking and quote each routing separately.

Shanghai MSA's Notice No. 4 of 2024 accepts either an inspector-signed packing certificate or a packing declaration issued by the stuffing company. Either way, the shipper remains responsible and must provide proof if MSA spot-checks.

References

Regulations and port sources cited

  1. Registro de Pilas y Acumuladores: preguntas frecuentes (Ministerio de Industria y Turismo)
  2. Registro de Pilas y Acumuladores (RII-PYA) (Ministerio de Industria y Turismo)
  3. Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
  4. Search on for containers lost overboard off South Africa's Indian Ocean coast (South African Maritime Safety Authority)
  5. Notice on the trial of the remote smart management system for DG container packing (Chinese), 12 November 2021 (Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration)
  6. Shanghai MSA Notice No. 4 of 2024 on declaring lithium battery dangerous-goods containers (Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration)
  7. Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))

Next step

From enquiry to import

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

Ask about Shanghai → Pasaia

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 Shanghai → Pasaia before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Shanghai · Spain ports

Workers loading cartons from pallets by hand in a warehouse

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