Feeder Leg
What Is a Feeder Leg?
A feeder leg is the short-sea segment of a container journey where a smaller vessel carries the container between a regional port and a large transshipment hub.
The term describes a vessel type and a role, not a trade route. Mainline vessels (Mother Vessels) are large, deep-draft ships that call only at major hub ports such as Ningbo, Yantian, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Klang, Jebel Ali and Busan. Feeder vessels are smaller ships that run fixed, frequent services between those hubs and the smaller ports the mainlines do not call at, including Lianyungang, Nanjing, Wuhan and Fuzhou. A container from a regional port usually sails on a feeder first, is transshipped at the hub, and continues on a mainline vessel.
| Aspect | Feeder vessel | Mainline vessel (Mother Vessel) |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel size | Smaller short-sea ships | Large deep-draft container ships |
| Ports called | Regional and secondary ports, plus hub connections | Major hub ports only |
| Example ports | Lianyungang, Nanjing, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Penang, Yangon, Phnom Penh, Karachi, Mombasa | Ningbo, Yantian, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Klang, Jebel Ali, Busan, Shanghai, Rotterdam |
| Route pattern | Short hops between regional ports and hubs | Long-haul deep-sea crossings between hubs |
| Typical leg time | 1–7 days | 1–6 weeks, depending on the trade lane |
| Role in your booking | First or last leg of a through booking | The long-haul leg of the same booking |
The same routing applies in both directions. On export, the feeder leg runs from the regional load port to the hub. On import, it runs from the hub to the regional discharge port. Carriers normally sell the two legs as one through booking, and one bill of lading covers the full journey.
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