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.
Europe · sea freight from Tianjin
Shipping from Tianjin to Batumi
Tianjin to Batumi
Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Bosporus
- TianjinChina origin
- Bohai Sea
- Bohai Strait
- Taiwan Strait
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Bosporus
- BatumiGeorgia
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 corridor through the Turkish Straits; at the far end is the port of Batumi.
Georgia applies its own import and product rules on arrival. 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
- Bohai Bay winter ice
- Tianjin Xingang export
Route profile
The Tianjin → Batumi route in brief
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.
Where this route gets difficult
What to watch between Tianjin and Batumi: 5 points
Listed from loading in Tianjin to import into Georgia, each with what we do about it.
- Origin port
Ice at the Haihe estuary in winter
Every winter the Bohai Sea ices over, and the Haihe estuary at Tianjin is one of the harder-hit areas. For 2021/22 the national marine forecast centre put the peak ice period between mid-January and mid-February, with floating ice about 5 nautical miles out in Bohai Bay. Ice and cold slow port work just as the Chinese New Year peak arrives.
What Anxin does: For January and February sailings from Tianjin we add slack between stuffing and the DG cut-off and confirm the vessel's berthing window with the carrier the week before loading.
- Origin port
Document review time at Tianjin and the cut-off
In July 2026 Tianjin MSA acknowledged that long document reviews under its traditional model often caused firms to miss the vessel's document cut-off, leaving cargo in port for another ship. The new appointment-based green channel, more than 50% faster with a fixed document list, is for new-energy-vehicle cargo; battery shipments should not count on it.
What Anxin does: We submit the cargo report with the full document set (safe-carriage declaration, SDS, packing certificate, packaging certificate) days before the cut-off rather than on the day, and treat any MSA query as same-day work.
- China export
Two maritime filings and a signed packing certificate before loading
Every lithium battery container leaving Tianjin needs a cargo safe-carriage report and a ship's dangerous goods permit filed with the Maritime Safety Administration by a certified declarant, and a container packing certificate signed by a certified inspector who watched the stuffing. Separately, customs must have appraised the packaging in use; export of dangerous goods in unappraised packaging is not allowed.
What Anxin does: We work only with packing sites and declarants holding the required certificates, and we collect the packaging use-appraisal result before the container is stuffed.
- Sea corridor
Black Sea war-risk area widened in September 2026
The Joint War Committee extended its Black Sea listed area on 16 September 2026 to cover nearly the whole sea, excluding only Turkish, Georgian, Bulgarian and Romanian territorial waters. Ships going in must notify war-risk underwriters, who can charge extra premium per voyage, which carriers may pass on.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier for any war-risk surcharge to Batumi in writing before booking and recheck it if the sailing moves.
- Sea corridor
Bab el-Mandeb and Suez come first
To reach the Black Sea a ship passes Suez. Mediterranean-type services took the Red Sea routing 57% of the time in September 2026, and the JMIC rated Bab el-Mandeb SUBSTANTIAL, with the Houthis in control of Perim Island in the channel.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier which routing the service uses and name it on the quote.
Documents & compliance
What to have ready: Tianjin to Batumi
Test reports, safety data sheets and import certificates come from the shipper, factory and importer, not from Anxin; our part is to review them before booking.
Before loading in Tianjin
- Packaging use-appraisal certificate issued before the MSA cargo report is filed
- Load plan showing even weight distribution (no more than 60% of the cargo weight in either half of the container length)
- 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 carrier and the voyage
- Final DG manifest data ready before the vessel reaches the Turkish Straits
- 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)
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 Tianjin filings, the carrier booking and the Georgia 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 Tianjin to Batumi, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document review runs past the vessel cut-off; cargo re-allocated to a later ship | Tianjin MSA review | Complete document set filed days before cut-off | Anxin with the declarant |
| Ice or cold spell slows berthing in mid-winter | Bohai Bay, Jan–Feb | Slack between stuffing and cut-off; berthing window reconfirmed | Carrier, monitored by Anxin |
| Additional war-risk premium added after booking | Black Sea listed area | Surcharge confirmed in writing | Carrier, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Questions about shipping from Tianjin to Batumi
A Sailing Plan 1 to the Turkish Straits VTS at least 24 hours before entry, including the dangerous cargo classes on board.
The green channel Tianjin MSA announced in July 2026 is for new-energy-vehicle cargo. For battery containers we plan on the normal review and file early, because Tianjin MSA has said long reviews under the traditional model often cost firms their vessel cut-off.
The 30% ceiling is an air-transport rule (IATA PI 965 for lithium-ion batteries shipped alone). The sea guidance we rely on sets no general 30% cap for UN3480 or UN3481, but a carrier may set its own condition, so we confirm it at booking.
References
Official sources for this page
- Turkish Straits Maritime Traffic Regulation (English translation) (Republic of Türkiye (translation published by VDA))
- JMIC Update 099 to Advisory Note (Joint Maritime Information Center (via UKMTO))
- Tianjin MSA opens a green channel for new-energy-vehicle shipments (Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) Administration)
- Tianjin port 2025 cross-border trade facilitation measures (Tianjin Municipal Government (tjjz.gov.cn))
- Sea ice arrives: what are the impacts? (Bohai and northern Yellow Sea, winter 2021/22) (China Meteorological Administration (from China Natural Resources News))
- Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))
- IATA Battery Guidance Document – Revised for the 2026 Regulations (IATA)
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Tianjin
- 5ImportClearance at Batumi
Prefer chat? Chat on WhatsApp (+86 151 4514 5178)
After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Batumi before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Tianjin · Georgia ports
Need Tianjin → Batumi reviewed?
Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.
Request a Quote