Lithium battery freight focus Air · Sea · Land assessment Document-first planning
Shipment Status & Support

Europe · sea freight from Tianjin

Shipping from Tianjin to Malmo

Tianjin to Malmo

Bohai Sea · Bohai Strait · Malacca Strait · Bab-el-Mandeb · Suez Canal · Strait of Gibraltar · English Channel · Danish Straits

Sea corridor illustration: Tianjin to Malmo, Sweden Simplified map with a curved corridor from Tianjin via Bohai Sea, Bohai Strait, Malacca Strait, Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar, English Channel, Danish Straits to Malmo. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINAINDIAAFRICAEUROPERUSSIAINDIAN OCEANNORTH ATLANTIC Singapore / MalaccaBab-el-MandebSuez CanalGibraltarDover Strait TianjinCHINA ORIGIN MalmoSWEDEN TianjinBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. TianjinChina origin
  2. Bohai Sea
  3. Bohai Strait
  4. Malacca Strait
  5. Bab-el-Mandeb
  6. Suez Canal
  7. Strait of Gibraltar
  8. English Channel
  9. Danish Straits
  10. MalmoSweden
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 Malmo go through Tianjin, with its Beijiang and Dongjiang terminals on the Bohai Bay. On the way they face a long Europe voyage extended through the Danish straits into the Baltic, and they arrive at the port of Malmo.

Sweden has required producer registration with Naturvårdsverket since January 2026. 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
  • EU declaration of conformity
  • Naturvårdsverket registration
  • Swedish-language safety information
Ask about this route Sweden ports from Tianjin

Route profile

The Tianjin → Malmo route in brief

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

Sweden

Naturvårdsverket registration under Ordinance 2025:813 since 1 January 2026, plus EU duties from CE marking to ADR on the road leg.

Container gantry cranes at a Tianjin port container terminal
A cargo ship at anchor in calm water under a clear sky

Where this route gets difficult

What to watch between Tianjin and Malmo: 5 points

They run from the Tianjin terminal through the voyage to Malmo and the Sweden import file.

  1. 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.

  2. Sea corridor

    The inbound leg's emissions now count under EU ETS

    Because Malmo is an EU port, container ships of 5,000 GT or more calling there fall under the EU Emissions Trading System, which covers half the emissions of the voyage from China. Lines surrendered allowances for 70% of those emissions in 2025 and must cover 100% from 2027, a cost that can reach shippers as a surcharge.

    What Anxin does: We ask for the emissions surcharge to be shown as its own line in the quote, with the basis the carrier uses, so that successive quotes can be compared like for like.

  3. Import country

    CE marking and a declaration of conformity in the right language

    The importer in Sweden carries the check: CE marking on the battery and an EU declaration of conformity, translated into the language Sweden asks for, have both been required since 18 August 2024 for batteries entering the EU market.

    What Anxin does: We ask the manufacturer in China for the declaration of conformity and a photo of the CE marking on the battery or its packaging before loading, and pass them to the Sweden importer. We check that the documents exist and match the goods; we do not assess conformity.

  4. Import country

    The importer's name and address on the battery

    A battery entering Sweden 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 Malmo.

    What Anxin does: We pass the Sweden 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.

  5. Import country

    Battery label from August 2026, QR code from February 2027

    The Battery Regulation's general information label applies from 18 August 2026 (or 18 months after the label implementing act, if later), and every battery needs a QR code from 18 February 2027, linked to a battery passport for EV, LMT and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Where the battery is too small, both go on the packaging and accompanying documents.

    What Anxin does: Before booking we ask the Sweden 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.

Locator map of Malmo, SwedenMalmo
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (55.62°N, 12.98°E).
Close view of stacked blue and red shipping containers at the Port of Rotterdam

Documents & compliance

Checklist for Tianjin → Malmo

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.

In Tianjin, before the box is loaded

  • Packaging use-appraisal certificate issued before the MSA cargo report is filed
  • 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

Carrier and voyage

  • Transhipment port, feeder operator and feeder DG acceptance named on the booking
  • In winter: feeder ice class checked against the restrictions on baltice.org
  • UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type

For import into Sweden

  • Label and QR-code status against the August 2026 and February 2027 dates
  • Naturvårdsverket registration of the Swedish producer
  • Instructions and safety information in the language Sweden requires
Cartons on a pallet being stretch-wrapped
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 Sweden before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Malmo.

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
Emissions surcharge changes between quote and sailingEU port callSurcharge shown as a separate lineCarrier, checked by Anxin
Declaration of conformity missing or not in the required languageImporter in SwedenDeclaration and CE photo collected before loadingManufacturer / importer
Stock shipped without the label due from August 2026Importer in SwedenLabel status confirmed before bookingManufacturer / importer
Importer details missing from battery and packagingImporter in SwedenAddress block sent to the factory before packingManufacturer / importer

Questions

Questions about shipping from Tianjin to Malmo

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, but it depends on the service. The Baltic is reached through the Danish straits, and we ask the carrier to name any transhipment port and confirm DG acceptance for each vessel.

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. Förordning (2025:813) med kompletterande bestämmelser till EU-förordningen om batterier (Sveriges riksdag)
  2. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (ELI) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  3. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (Official Journal PDF) (EUR-Lex / Publications Office of the EU)
  4. Inland transport of dangerous goods (summary of Directive 2008/68/EC) (EUR-Lex)
  5. Navigation through Danish waters (version 16.0, 2025) (Danish Maritime Authority)
  6. Finland's winter navigation 2025–2026 (Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency)
  7. Reducing emissions from the shipping sector (European Commission (DG Climate Action))
  8. Tianjin Customs export dangerous goods service page: supervised factory loading, direct loading on port arrival (Tianjin Customs)
  9. Tianjin port 2025 cross-border trade facilitation measures (Tianjin Municipal Government (tjjz.gov.cn))
  10. 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 Malmo
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Tianjin → Malmo

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

All destinations from Tianjin · Sweden ports

A forklift moving palletised cartons in a warehouse

Need Tianjin → Malmo reviewed?

Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.

Request a Quote
Request a Quote WhatsApp