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Europe · sea freight from Tianjin

Shipping from Tianjin to Bordeaux

Tianjin to Bordeaux

Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar

Sea corridor illustration: Tianjin to Bordeaux, France Simplified map with a curved corridor from Tianjin via Bohai Sea, Bohai Strait, Taiwan Strait, Malacca Strait, Indian Ocean, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar to Bordeaux. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIASOUTHEAST ASIAAFRICAEUROPEINDIAN OCEAN Taiwan StraitSingapore / MalaccaBab-el-MandebSuez CanalGibraltar TianjinCHINA ORIGIN BordeauxFRANCE TianjinBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. TianjinChina origin
  2. Bohai Sea
  3. Bohai Strait
  4. Taiwan Strait
  5. Malacca Strait
  6. Indian Ocean
  7. Bab-el-Mandeb
  8. Suez Canal
  9. Strait of Gibraltar
  10. BordeauxFrance
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.

This route runs out of Tianjin's Xingang terminals, where customs can supervise stuffing at the factory and the box goes straight to the ship on a booked slot, 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 Bordeaux.

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

  • Tianjin Xingang export
  • Factory-supervised loading
  • IDU (batteries stream)
  • French-language safety information
  • Consignee EORI
Ask about this route France ports from Tianjin

Route profile

What sets Tianjin → Bordeaux apart

Origin port

Tianjin (Xingang)

North China's main container gateway, where Tianjin Customs lets DG containers be inspected at the factory and loaded on arrival within a booked port slot, and where the Bohai Bay freezes at its edges in mid-winter.

Import country

France

An IDU from SYDEREP for the batteries stream, eco-organisme membership now required for every battery category, and the EU-wide CE and label duties.

Container gantry cranes at a Tianjin port container terminal
A container ship under way off the Guatemalan coast

Where this route gets difficult

5 pain points from Tianjin to Bordeaux

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

  1. Origin port

    At Tianjin the port slot is booked before the truck leaves the factory

    Tianjin Customs runs a 'supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival' model for dangerous goods: officers oversee stuffing at the factory, the declaration goes in early through the single window, and the container enters the port in a slot booked on the customs–port platform and goes straight to the ship. Any inspection happens in closed yards inside the Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals. The time saved depends on the stuffing date, the slot and the declared data all matching.

    What Anxin does: We fix the stuffing date against the vessel's DG cut-off first, then book the entry slot, and check that the declaration, the packing certificate and the container number agree before the truck leaves, so the box is not diverted to an inspection yard for a data mismatch.

  2. Origin port

    Packaging appraisal comes first, even with Tianjin's quicker release

    China requires use appraisal of export dangerous-goods packaging before the goods may be exported. Tianjin port's 2025 facilitation measures shortened packaging appraisal time for lithium battery exports through quick release, and Tianjin Port Group provides port services for lithium DG containers, but the appraisal certificate is still a precondition for the rest of the filing.

    What Anxin does: We check at quotation that the packaging maker has its performance appraisal and apply for the use appraisal as soon as the packing is fixed, so the certificate is in hand before the MSA filing.

  3. Sea corridor

    Drawn via Suez, sailed mostly via the Cape

    The map on this page shows the corridor through Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez, but Sea-Intelligence figures for September 2026 put Red Sea routing on the Asia–Europe head-haul at 13–25%, with 27% for North Europe services and 57% for the Mediterranean. The service that calls at Bordeaux decides between Suez and the Cape of Good Hope, and with it the distance, the waters and the possible transhipment ports.

    What Anxin does: We ask the carrier to state the routing and any transhipment port on the booking confirmation, and we quote the two routings separately when both are on offer rather than mixing them.

  4. Import country

    The IDU: France's proof that the producer is registered

    Every producer in a French REP stream has needed a unique identifier since 2022, and it is the proof of registration in ADEME's SYDEREP register. When the producer joins an eco-organisme, the eco-organisme does the registration; the IDU then has to appear in the terms of sale or on the website and be given to buyers who ask.

    What Anxin does: We ask the French importer for the batteries-stream IDU of whoever acts as producer before we book, so the buyer's own IDU check does not stop the goods after they reach Bordeaux.

  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 France 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 France importer; we do not test batteries.

Locator map of Bordeaux, FranceBordeaux
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (44.87°N, 0.57°W).
Container gantry cranes at the Burchardkai terminal in Hamburg

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Tianjin to Bordeaux

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.

Before loading in Tianjin

  • Stuffing date, port-entry slot and DG cut-off at Tianjin agreed in that order
  • Packaging use-appraisal certificate issued before the MSA cargo report is filed
  • 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

For the shipping line

  • Routing (Suez or Cape of Good Hope) and any transhipment port stated on the booking confirmation
  • UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
  • Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)

For import into France

  • Batteries-stream IDU of the producer of record in France
  • Haulier in France briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
  • Eco-organisme (or approved individual system) for the battery category
A portable power bank connected to a smartphone
Before you book

One consistent file

A document that is present but inconsistent holds a booking as surely as a missing one: the UN number, model name or carton count reads differently in the Tianjin export filings, the carrier booking and the France import papers. We compare all three before confirming space.

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 Tianjin to Bordeaux, and who acts

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Box sent to the terminal inspection yard because declared data do not matchBeijiang / Dongjiang terminalsDeclaration, packing certificate and container number cross-checked before truckingAnxin
Service switches between Suez and Cape routingMain voyageRouting written on the booking; quotes kept separate per routing; packing assumes the longer voyageCarrier, tracked by Anxin
Buyer cannot verify an IDU and holds the orderImporter in FranceIDU obtained before bookingImporter / producer

Questions

Questions about shipping from Tianjin to Bordeaux

24 hours before the container is loaded in China, not before it reaches Bordeaux. 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.

Tianjin Customs offers a 'supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival' model: stuffing is supervised at the factory, the box enters the port in a booked slot and is loaded directly. Whether a given shipment can use it depends on the customs arrangement for the exporter and the port slot; we check both when you book.

References

Regulations and port sources cited

  1. Identifiant unique (IDU) des filières REP (ADEME, Filières REP)
  2. Filière REP Batteries (BAT) (ADEME, Filières REP)
  3. Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
  4. Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
  5. Tianjin port 2025 cross-border trade facilitation measures (Tianjin Municipal Government (tjjz.gov.cn))
  6. 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 Tianjin
  5. 5ImportClearance at Bordeaux
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Tianjin → Bordeaux

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 Tianjin → Bordeaux before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Tianjin · France ports

Trailers backed up to the loading docks of a warehouse

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