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Heating Oil News

21 Nov 2023

River Rhine in South Germany Closed to Shipping, May Reopen Soon

© CL-Medien / Adobe Stock

Parts of the river Rhine in south Germany remained closed to shipping on Tuesday after heavy rain this month but falling water levels could lead to a reopening later on Tuesday, navigation authorities said.Rhine river shipping remains stopped around the chokepoint of Maxau in south Germany, the German inland waterways navigation agency WSA said.

16 Nov 2023

High Water Closes Parts of Rhine River in South Germany to Shipping

Maxau Rhine Bridges - Credit: waechter-media.de/AdobeStock

Parts of the river Rhine in Germany have been closed to shipping because of a rise in water levels following recent heavy rain, German authorities said on Thursday.Rhine river shipping has been stopped around Maxau in south Germany, the German inland waterways navigation agency WSA said.High water means vessels do not have enough space to sail under bridges, preventing vessels reaching Switzerland.Central and northern sections of the river are open to shipping.Water levels are forecast to fall, allowing shipping to resume later on Thursday or on Friday, said the water level forecasting service

05 Oct 2023

Low Water Hampers Rhine River Shipping in Germany

Credit: CL-Medien/AdobeStock

Low water levels after recent dry weather are preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight rates, commodity traders said on Thursday.Low water is hampering shipping on most of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.Some vessels can only transit Kaub about 50% full, depending on ship type, they said.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners.

02 Aug 2023

Rhine River Levels in Germany Back to Normal after Rain

Credit: diegograndi/AdobeStock

Heavy rain has raised water levels on the river Rhine in Germany to levels allowing cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, data from German inland waterways agency WSA said on Wednesday.Data from the WSA’s website Pegelonline showed that the last shallow sectors of the river around Cologne had now reached levels generally permitting full vessel loads.Dry weather in June meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded and ship operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.

03 Jul 2023

Rain Raises Rhine River Water in Germany, North Still Too Shallow

© EdNurg / Adobe Stock

Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany have risen after rain but are still too low in northern and central areas for cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Monday.Dry weather in June meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded and vessel operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains…

29 Dec 2022

Operation Coal Shovel: US Coast Guard Kicks Off Great Lakes Icebreking

USCG Cutter Neah Bay assisted the M/V James R. Barker (carrying 54,000 tons of taconite) stuck in Detroit East Outer Channel on Wednesday. The Barker and three vessels in the convoy were moving again carrying a total of 99,000 tons of taconite and over 19,000 tons of sand. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday commenced Operation Coal Shovel, a domestic icebreaking operation to maintain commercial vessel traffic from southern Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair, to the St. Clair / Detroit River system, and into Lake Erie and Lake Ontario including the St. Lawrence Seaway.U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers work together in these waterways as conditions worsen throughout the winter to ensure the ability to conduct search-and-rescue, exigent community service, and the facilitation of navigation to meet the reasonable demands of commerce.Both the U.S.

29 Sep 2022

Rain Lifts Rhine Water Levels, Helps Cool Off Cargo Rates

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany have risen sharply after rain this week, approaching normal levels and helping cool off cargo shipping rates, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Thursday.Prices for cargo shipping are falling as vessels are able to load more freight, they said.Spot prices for a liquid tanker barge from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe south of Kaub were at about 55 euros a tonne on Thursday, down from about 68 euros last week and peaks of about 118 in August…

23 Sep 2022

Depleted Rhine Water Level in Germany Holds Above Crisis Lows

© EdNurg / Adobe Stock

Water depths on the river Rhine in Germany have fallen after dry weather this week but remain well above the crisis lows of this summer, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Friday.Rain is expected in south German river catchment areas over the weekend and next week, which is expected to raise water levels again, they said.Weeks of high temperatures and scant rainfall in August had reduced the commercial artery's water levels, causing delays to shipping and pushing up freight costs. There were fears disruption could even hit overall German economic growth.

19 Sep 2022

Rhine Water Levels in Germany Approaching Normal Depths

© Margarita / Adobe Stock

Water depths on the Rhine River in Germany have risen thanks to recent rain and are approaching normal levels after falling this summer to lows that disrupted transportation, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Monday.But, since dry weather was forecast for much of this week, levels could fall again and the picture had not yet normalized, brokers said.The Rhine is an important shipping route for such commodities as grains, minerals, coal and oil products, including heating oil.Weeks of high temperatures and scant rainfall in August lowered water levels in the river…

07 Sep 2022

Putin Casts Doubt Over Ukraine Grain Deal and Gas Supplies to Europe

© Elena / Adobe Stock

President Vladimir Putin mooted on Wednesday reopening a U.N.-brokered deal for Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea and threatened to halt all energy supplies to Europe if Brussels caps the price of Russian gas.In a combative speech to an economic forum in Russia's Far East region, Putin made little reference to his invasion of Ukraine, but said in answer to a question that Russia would not lose the war and had strengthened its sovereignty.On the ground, Ukrainian officials…

24 Aug 2022

Relief as Rhine Water Rises in Germany, But Expected to Drop again

By CL-Medien/AdobeStock

Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany have risen after recent rain but are expected to fall again with mostly dry weather forecast in the coming days, ship operators said on Wednesday.Weeks of high temperatures and scant rainfall drained water levels in the river, a major German commercial transport artery, causing delays to shipping and pushing freight costs up. The disruption could knock half a percentage point off economic growth in Germany this year. Shallow water compelled some freight vessels to sail only about 25% full in August…

08 Aug 2022

River Rhine Level in Germany Drops Further, Ships Only Part-loaded

Rhine river in Cologne - Photo by Bartolomej Tomić (File Photo)

Water levels on the Rhine in Germany fell again during hot dry weather over the weekend and cargo vessels cannot sail fully loaded, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Monday.Shallow water is causing problems for shipping on the entire river in Germany. The Rhine is one of the key channels linking Germany's industrial heartlands with the North Sea ports from which products are exported to world markets.Freight shipping on the river continues, but with vessels sometimes forced to sail three-quarters empty.

05 Aug 2022

Rhine Water Level Falls Again in Germany, Raising Freight Costs

© Dynamoland / Adobe Stock

Water levels on the Rhine in Germany continue to fall in hot weather, sending shipping costs higher because vessels cannot sail on the river fully loaded, vessel brokers said on Friday.Freight shipping on the river continues but with vessels sometimes forced to sail 75% empty.Low Rhine water will also hit output from two German coal-fired power stations in the coming months.The water level is particularly low at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz. The reference waterline level at Kaub was only 56 centimeters on Friday…

29 Jul 2022

Rhine Level in Germany Falls Again, Vessels Only Part-loaded

© bios48 / Adobe Stock

Water levels on the Rhine in Germany have fallen again with vessels often sailing only half full and prices for cargo transport rising, commodity traders and shipbrokers said on Friday.Shallow water after dry weather continues to hinder shipping on the entire river in Germany.

21 Jul 2022

Rain Helps Rhine River in Germany But Shipping Problems Remain

Panorama of a cargo ship on the river Rhine near Koblenz, Germany
©venemama/AdobeStock

Heavy rain is helping stabilize the river Rhine in Germany as it suffers low water levels, but it is unlikely to be enough to solve freight shipping problems, navigation authorities said on Thursday.Shallow water is hampering shipping on the entire river in Germany south of Duisburg, and freight shipping on the river continues but with vessels carrying greatly reduced loads, said a spokesman for German inland waterways navigation agency WSA.A slight increase in water levels is…

22 Mar 2022

Low Water Hampers Rhine River Shipping in Germany

Rhine river in Cologne - Photo by Bartolomej Tomić (File Photo)

Low water after recent dry weather continues to prevent cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the river Rhine in Germany, traders said on Monday.Low water is hampering shipping in much of the river in Germany south of Duisburg and Cologne to southern regions around Maxau, traders said.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates, increasing costs for cargo owners.The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products including heating oil.(Reuters - Reporting by Michael Hogan Editing by Mark Potter)

10 Jan 2022

Fairbanks Morse to Supply Engine Parts for USCG Icebreaking Tugs

(Photo: Todd Manow / U.S. Coast Guard)

Fairbanks Morse Defense announced on Monday it has been awarded a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) requirements contract by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Surface Forces Logistic Center. The agreement, worth up to $13 million, makes FMD the required source of supply for all Opposed Piston (OP) Engine Parts listed in the contract’s schedule of supplies. These parts primarily support OP engines on nine 140-foot Bay Class Icebreaking Tugboats (WTGBs).Since 1977, WTGBs have been used as critical icebreakers on many Northeast and Midwestern U.S.

23 Jul 2021

Flooding in Germany: Rhine River Re-opens to Shipping as Water Levels Drop

Credit: Margarita/AdobeStock

Germany's Rhine river has re-opened to shipping as water levels fell from recent highs in the last southern stretches blocked after last week's record rains, authorities said on Friday.Shipping had been stopped last week following the rains and flooding that caused heavy loss of life in Germany’s worst natural disaster in more than half a century.The drop, which follows this week's hot, dry weather, allowed the re-opening of sections of the river around Maxau, the German inland waterways navigation agency said…

14 Dec 2020

Low Water Hindering Rhine River Shipping

© kathomenden / Adobe Stock

Low water after dry weather in past weeks continues to prevent cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the river Rhine in Germany, traders said on Monday.Low water is hampering shipping in the northern and central sections of the river, especially around Cologne and Kaub, traders said. But recent rain has returned some southern sections to normal levels.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates, increasing costs for cargo owners.The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products including heating oil.

21 Dec 2020

US Coast Guard Kicks Off Northeast Icebreaking Season

A U.S. Coast Guard boatcrew from Aids To Navigation Team Long Island Sound navigates the Connecticut River in support of Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters (RENEW) near Haddam, Conn., December 19, 2020. Operation RENEW is the Coast Guard's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy and emergency resources they need throughout the winter. (Photo: Katie Loudermilk / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard has launched its icebreaking season, helping to maintain the flow of essential maritime commerce as as winter’s cold temperatures are anticipated to impact every port, waterway and harbor in the Northeast throughout the coming months.Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters (RENEW) is the Coast Guard's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy and emergency resources they need throughout the winter. Of all the heating oil used in the U.S.…

31 Aug 2020

Alberta Oil Shipped Through Panama Canal to Atlantic Canada

On July 20, the tanker Cabo de Hornos delivered an estimated 450,000 barrels of crude oil to the Irving Oil refinery’s Canaport storage facilities in Saint John, N.B.What made Cabo de Hornos’s delivery different was that it was the first time crude oil had arrived in Saint John by ship from Alberta. It came via the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Westbridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., and then through the Panama Canal.By the end of April next year, a second tanker will arrive at Canaport carrying 350,000 to one million barrels of Western Canadian crude oil. In this case, the oil will have come via pipeline from Alberta to a crude oil exporting terminal in Texas or Louisiana.For most of the Saint John refinery’s 50 years of operation…

29 Dec 2020

Rhine River Shipping in Germany Back to Normal After Rain

© mitifoto / Adobe Stock

Shipping on the Rhine in Germany has returned to normal, with cargo vessels able to take on full loads after rain raised river levels in past days, traders said on Monday.The river fell below normal levels this month after dry weather.Shallow water means ships can only sail partly loaded and vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates, increasing costs for cargo owners.Rain in the past week has now raised water to normal levels, including northern sections around Cologne, traders said.The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil prod

10 Dec 2020

Rhine Water Level Rises, Too Shallow in North for Full Shipping

© hansenn / Adobe Stock

Low water levels after dry weather in the past month continue to prevent cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the river Rhine in Germany, traders said on Thursday.Low water is hampering shipping throughout the river, especially around Cologne, traders said.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates, increasing costs for cargo owners.But rain is forecast in some river catchment areas in south Germany and Switzerland later this week which could help to raise water levels…