The currently low water levels on the Rhine are making shipping traffic on one of the most important waterways difficult. There is currently no threat of supply bottlenecks – but the costs of transport are rising.
Shipping on Germany’s most important waterway, the Rhine, is currently significantly restricted due to low water levels. The water level at the important Kaub bottleneck near Koblenz is currently only 85 centimeters, which is an annual low. This was the result of a measurement by the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration today.
“With the current water levels, no normal freight ship can sail the Middle Rhine fully loaded,” said spokesman for the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority, Florian Krekel, to the Reuters news agency. “The maximum utilization of the ships is currently between 40 and 70 percent, depending on the size of the ship.”
Weak economic activity in chemicals and construction
According to the DTG shipping cooperative, there are currently no fears of supply bottlenecks despite the disruptions. “The chemical and construction industries – usually large customers of inland shipping – are currently weakening massively,” said DTG board member Roberto Spranzi in view of the weakening economy.
“The warehouses of the coal-fired power plants are still well filled.” However, transport will become more expensive and the waterway will lose its competitiveness as a transport route. “Security of supply is guaranteed even in the event of a short-term increase in demand,” emphasized Spranzi.
Water levels expected to continue falling
Low levels are common at this time of year. “The groundwater reservoirs are largely empty and there has been hardly any rain since September,” said Krekel. “But we are still a long way from extreme water levels.” For the coming days, the administration predicts water levels will continue to fall – to up to 71 centimeters at the Kaub bottleneck.
The Rhine is an important transport route for goods such as grain, coal, gasoline and heating oil. Shallow water leads to surcharges on freight rates and thus higher costs. Last year, inland shipping transported less than ever since reunification due to the disruption caused by low water levels on the Rhine.
182 million tons of goods were transported on the waterways, 6.4 percent less than in 2021, as the Federal Statistical Office determined. The chemical company BASF – whose largest factory at its headquarters in Ludwigshafen receives around 40 percent of its raw materials via the river and which also uses the Rhine water for cooling – has therefore armed itself with special low-water ships after the stresses of 2018.