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The power bank the shipper said was “not dangerous”

A shipper books 200 power banks by road and sea and writes “no dangerous goods” on the booking. The label on the product says 3.7 V, 20,000 mAh.

Case Studies / Case 1 · Dangerous Goods Checker

Status: Illustrative scenario — a typical situation with invented details. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
What’s at stake

Lithium batteries booked as non-dangerous can be refused at the terminal and expose the shipper to fines — and in a container they are a fire risk.

Case 1 · 2 min read · Last reviewed 8 October 2026

Problem

A shipper books 200 power banks by road and sea and writes “no dangerous goods” on the booking. The label on the product says 3.7 V, 20,000 mAh.

Input

Product: power bank, lithium-ion, 3.7 V, 20,000 mAh, packed alone. Mode: road (ADR) and sea (IMDG).

What I did

  1. Calculate the energy: 3.7 V × 20 Ah = 74 Wh.
  2. Ask the Dangerous Goods Checker with product name, battery type and Wh rating.
  3. Read the result and open the source rule it points to.

Result

Reference answer: lithium-ion batteries are dangerous goods (class 9, UN 3480 when shipped alone). At 74 Wh the battery is under the 100 Wh limit used by special provision 188, which gives reduced requirements but does not make the goods non-regulated. The test summary for UN 38.3 must exist.

Where it can go wrong

“Not dangerous” and “reduced requirements” are different statements. Booking it as non-DG is wrong. Also easy to miss: the Wh rating is often not printed, so it has to be calculated.

Human verification

  • Confirm the Wh rating and cell/battery split from the datasheet.
  • Confirm the UN 38.3 test summary is available.
  • Check special provision 188 conditions in the current ADR and IMDG text.
  • A DGSA or the carrier confirms acceptance.
Next step

Check your own shipment with the same steps.

Open the Dangerous Goods Checker →
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Stuck on a similar case?

Send the details (without customer names) to contact@supply.training. Written by a logistics professional with 20+ years on the floor — about the author.

Cases are anonymised and practical. They are not legal, customs, tax or dangerous-goods advice. Verify the current rule and the carrier or authority requirement for every real shipment. Last reviewed: 8 October 2026.