A European shipper has teamed up with China United Lines (CULines) to charter a feeder vessel as an alternative to existing services on the Asia-Europe trade.

Germany's Xstaff said the move has been planned as a one-off, but it could soon be repeated if the container freight market remains unchanged.

The 2,700-teu containership Laila (built 2008) left Yantian in China on 8 February and is expected to arrive in Hamburg in early March.