Germany's Hapag-Lloyd has teamed up with five Asian container shipping firms to form a new international alliance, the latest such arrangement in the troubled industry.

Hapag-Lloyd said on Friday that the alliance is due to begin operating in April 2017 for an initial five year period.

It will span 18 per cent of the global container fleet capacity, or 3.5 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEU), and more than 620 ships in all East-West trade lanes, it said.

The Alliance, as it will be called, will bring together Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd, Japan's trio Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Mitsui OSK Line with South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, and Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport.

Shipping alliances involve sharing vessels and routes to save costs. Details of the anticipated cost savings, or the balance of power within the group were not disclosed.

"This agreement is a milestone and will enable the six partners of The Alliance to offer sailing frequencies and direct coverage in the market," its members said in a statement.

Separately, Hapag-Lloyd said it is in merger talks with the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), with view to that company also joining The Alliance later, which would raise the new group's capacity to more than 4 million TEU.

Hapag-Lloyd also reported a net loss of €42.8 million (‎$48.51 million) in the first quarter of 2016, but stuck to a forecast for a moderate increased in EBITDA for the full year, citing positive operating results. - Reuters