13/08/26
Rhine hits record lows, halts shipping south of Mainz
Hamburg, 13 August (Argus) — Rhine River water levels have again dropped to
record lows, and barge operators said most traffic is now halted south of Mainz.
Navigation is also increasingly restricted further north, as water levels
continue to fall. Freight rates from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub
to Rhine destinations have hit record highs. The water gauge at Kaub, the
Rhine's key bottleneck, was at 11cm on 13 August. The Federal Waterways and
Shipping Administration forecasts a drop to 6cm by the weekend, another all-time
low. At this level, river transport from ARA to the Upper Rhine and Main River
is near-impossible. Only a few specialised barges can pass through Kaub under
extremely challenging conditions, shipowners said. Storage sites along the Main,
including Frankfurt, Hanau and Aschaffenburg, and depots on the Upper Rhine in
Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Kehl and Basel, Switzerland, are effectively cut off from
ARA. Shipping south of Kaub, to Basel, is barely feasible because of shallow
water at the Maxau gauge south of Karlsruhe. Shipowners said quoted spot freight
rates for ARA-Karlsruhe cargoes are largely theoretical, as volumes are too low
to ascertain a reliable market price. The Argus rate for ARA-Karlsruhe route is
a record €215/t, but urgent cargoes that still move to the Upper Rhine on
specialised vessels are commanding even higher lump-sum rates. Most transport is
confined to the Lower Rhine. Duisburg, Dortmund and Neuss remain accessible from
ARA, shipowners said. Of the Cologne terminals — Köln-Molenkopf, Köln-Niehl,
Godorf and Wesseling — only the former can still theoretically be served by
conventional barges. The others are already too shallow for regular operations.
Water levels are also dropping on the Lower Rhine. On 13 August, the Duisburg
gauge was 136cm, another historic low. Barges can reach Duisburg from ARA at
only about 15pc of capacity, according to shipowners. If Duisburg falls below
130cm, inland shipping could be halted on parts of the Lower Rhine. Forecasts
show little short-term relief. While local thunderstorms are expected, dry soils
mean these may not raise river levels significantly. A sustained recovery would
need widespread, prolonged rainfall across the basin. By Johannes Guhlke and
Marc Hauschild Send comments and request more information at
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