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 Genoa
Tianjin to Genoa
Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Taiwan Strait · Malacca Strait · Indian Ocean · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Ligurian Sea
- TianjinChina origin
- Bohai Sea
- Bohai Strait
- Taiwan Strait
- Malacca Strait
- Indian Ocean
- Bab-el-Mandeb
- Suez Canal
- Ligurian Sea
- GenoaItaly
Lithium batteries for Genoa go 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. On the way they face a Suez corridor that Mediterranean services are using again more than any other Asia–Europe lane, and they arrive at a Ligurian port with only five areas authorised to hold dangerous goods.
Italy expects the producer to be on the Chambers of Commerce battery register before the first sale. This page sets out 6 points specific to this route, how Anxin handles each one and which documents to prepare.
What we need to start
- Factory-supervised loading
- Bohai Bay winter ice
- Italian-language safety information
- Consignee EORI
- EU declaration of conformity
Route profile
The Tianjin → Genoa route in brief
Genoa
Port Authority approval for every dangerous-goods transit and temporary stay under Ordinance 4/2001, in one of five authorised terminal areas.
Where this route gets difficult
6 pain points from Tianjin to Genoa
They run from the Tianjin terminal through the voyage to Genoa and the Italy import file.
- Origin port
Tianjin's supervised factory loading and port slots
Under Tianjin Customs' 'supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival' model, officers supervise stuffing at the factory, the declaration is lodged early through the single window, and the box enters the port in a slot booked on the customs–port platform before going straight to the ship; inspections take place in closed yards at the Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals. The gain holds only if stuffing date, slot and declared data agree.
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.
- Origin port
Packaging appraisal is still the first step at Tianjin
Export dangerous-goods packaging must pass use appraisal in China before the goods can leave. Tianjin port's 2025 measures shortened appraisal time for lithium battery exports through quick release, and Tianjin Port Group handles lithium DG containers, but without the appraisal certificate the rest of the filing cannot proceed.
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.
- Sea corridor
The round-Africa alternative
Services that avoid the Red Sea, 43% of the Mediterranean total, go round the Cape of Good Hope and re-enter through Gibraltar. SAMSA estimates that about 200 of the 576 containers lost at sea in 2024, 35% of the total, went overboard near the Cape.
What Anxin does: On Cape sailings we apply the CINS blocking and bracing checks strictly on stuffing photos before sealing.
- Destination port
Only five terminal areas may hold dangerous goods
Five areas in Genoa and Pra' are authorised for temporary storage of dangerous goods: PSA Genova Prà, SECH, IMT-Messina, Spinelli and Terminal San Giorgio. Which terminal the carrier uses therefore decides where a class 9 box can wait, and how much room there is.
What Anxin does: We ask the carrier which Genoa terminal the service uses and pass that to the importer, so trucking is booked to the right gate.
- Import country
The ICS2 entry summary is due before loading in Tianjin
For Genoa, EU security pre-filing happens at the other end of the voyage: the ICS2 entry summary must reach the system 24 hours before the container is loaded in Tianjin. No filing means no loading, and a missing EORI number is enough to reject it.
What Anxin does: We collect the consignee's EORI number, an HS-level goods description and the house-bill parties at booking, and make sure the party filing the ENS has them before the Tianjin cut-off.
- Import country
The importer's name and address on the battery
A battery entering Italy 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 Genoa.
What Anxin does: We pass the Italy 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
What to have ready: Tianjin to Genoa
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.
In Tianjin, before the box is loaded
- 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
- Load plan showing even weight distribution (no more than 60% of the cargo weight in either half of the container length)
- Register number to appear on the commercial invoice
- EU declaration of conformity and CE marking photo from the manufacturer
For the carrier and the voyage
- Routing (Red Sea or Cape) and any war-risk surcharge stated on the booking
- 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 Italy
- Instructions and safety information in the language Italy requires
- Haulier in Italy briefed with UN number, class 9 and tunnel code (E) for the road leg
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Tianjin filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for Italy before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Genoa.
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
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box sent to the terminal inspection yard because declared data do not match | Beijiang / Dongjiang terminals | Declaration, packing certificate and container number cross-checked before trucking | Anxin |
| Heavy weather off South Africa on a Cape sailing | Cape of Good Hope | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
| ENS not filed and the box is refused at loading | Loading port, Tianjin | EORI and house-bill data passed to the filer at booking | Filer (carrier / forwarder) |
| Importer details missing from battery and packaging | Importer in Italy | Address block sent to the factory before packing | Manufacturer / importer |
Questions
Tianjin → Genoa: 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).
Often: in September 2026, 57% of Asia–Mediterranean services used the Red Sea routing. Bab el-Mandeb was rated a SUBSTANTIAL threat by the JMIC on 24 September 2026, so we confirm each service's routing before booking.
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
Where these points come from
- Registro dei produttori di pile ed accumulatori (Camera di Commercio di Venezia Rovigo, Ufficio Unico Ambiente)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (ELI) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- ICS2 Release 3: Prepare your business for sending goods to or via the EU by sea and inland waterways (European Commission, DG TAXUD (leaflet KP0423828ENN))
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (Official Journal PDF) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
- Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
- Merci e sostanze pericolose (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mar Ligure Occidentale)
- JMIC Update 099 to Advisory Note (Joint Maritime Information Center (via UKMTO))
- Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
- Tianjin port 2025 cross-border trade facilitation measures (Tianjin Municipal Government (tjjz.gov.cn))
- Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Tianjin
- 5ImportClearance at Genoa
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Tianjin → Genoa before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
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