Danish shipping major Maersk Line has partnered up with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to allow users to book ship places online.

Maersk launched a pilot program on Alibaba OneTouch portal on Dec. 22, 2016, moving a step forward to "providing fully digitized customer solutions", a spokesperson of the carrier said in a statement.

"The initial launch will feature a … product that allows existing Alibaba OneTouch (registered) users to lock in the price of required cargo spaces on selected routes by pre-paying a deposit amount," added the spokesperson.

This service will be offered on selected routes and ports initially, according to the company.

During the process, the company plans to assess other potential third party portals and target customers.

Established in 2001, Shenzhen One-Touch Enterprise Service Limited is a provider of one-stop services for exporters in China. The company was acquired by Alibaba in 2010.