Rhine River water levels hit new lows, disrupting cargo shipping

Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany hit new lows on Tuesday, the country’s inland navigation agency said on Wednesday, with some cargo services stopping but other sailings continuing with greatly reduced loads.

• Inland navigation agency WSV said the navigable water depth at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz was 23cm on Wednesday, below the previous lowest recorded level of 25cm in 2018. The river is about 1 metre deeper than the navigable depth.

• Shallow water in the current heatwave means freight vessels are often sailing only 20% loaded. Loads must be spread among several vessels sailing partly loaded, increasing costs for industry.

• German container logistics company Contargo said on Wednesday that it is suspending its regular inland waterway services to the southern Rhine and the Rhine-Main region.

• Barge operations in the Woerth/Karlsruhe and Rhine-Neckar regions are possible only to a very limited extent, a Contargo spokesperson said.

• The company's loading capacity on the lower (northern) Rhine has been reduced significantly, the spokesperson added.

• Commodity traders said that the cost of tanker barge transport from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe is about €155 to €160 ($179.80 to $185.60) a ton, up from €45 in June, but cargo is still generally arriving.

• German chemicals company Evonik said it expected only a tiny impact on business from the low water. It regarded the situation as still manageable.

• The navigable depth at Kaub will fall to new record lows on Thursday, the WSV said, when Germany’s new transport minister will hold an urgent meeting about the situation.

• The Rhine is a route for commodities including grains, ores and petrol.

-Reporting by Reporting by Michael Hogan;Additinal reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova;Editing by David Goodman/Reuters