Michael Hogan News

Grain ships originating from the Black Sea or bound for Iran are about the only ones still sailing through the Red Sea as Houthi militants continue to attack vessels in the area, analysts said on Friday.The attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted global shipping since November and forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa."Just about all (dry bulk grain) vessels going from the Americas and western Europe are avoiding the Red Sea…

More ships carrying grain were diverted from the Suez Canal to sailings around the Cape of Good Hope this week as concern about attacks on vessels in the Red Sea continued, shipping analysts said on Friday."Another 13 vessels were diverted this week taking the total cargo diverted away from the Red Sea route to around 5.2 million metric tons of grains in about 90 ships since the attacks started late last year," said Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at data provider…

Ukraine has managed to boost its Black Sea grain exports to a level not seen since before Russia's invasion, although the Red Sea shipping crisis poses a new challenge to its crucial agricultural trade.Kyiv's success in replacing a UN-backed Black Sea export deal with its own shipping scheme has brought relief for Ukrainian farmers and importing countries while representing a naval breakthrough for Ukraine's military as a land counteroffensive has stalled.The export turnaround…

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.

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

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.

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.

Heavy rain has raised water levels on the Rhine in Germany, but the river is still too shallow in central northern areas for cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Wednesday.The river is a major western European shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products. Dry weather in June meant it became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded and operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for ships sailing partly empty…

Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube River in a drone attack on Monday, targeting a vital export route for Kyiv in an expanding air campaign that Moscow began last week after quitting the Black Sea grain deal.Last week's attacks mostly struck the sea ports of Odesa but Monday's pre-dawn strikes hit infrastructure along the Danube, an export route whose importance has grown since the demise of the deal allowing Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea."The Russian terrorists have again attacked the Odesa region overnight.

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…

The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a sop to Moscow, the Financial Times said on Monday.With the bank under sanctions, the move aims to safeguard the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export food to global markets, the newspaper said.The European Commission had no comment while the Kremlin on Monday, in response to a question about the report, said it had…

Negotiations began on Monday between U.N. officials and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on a possible extension to a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva said.The Black Sea grain initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from three Ukrainian ports.The deal…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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)

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…

Russian attacks on Ukraine's grain infrastructure look like attempts to reduce the competition in Russia's export markets, German Agriculture Minister Cem Oezdemir was reported as saying on Monday.Ukraine could lose tens of millions of tonnes of grain due to Russia's blockade of its Black Sea ports, triggering a food crisis that will hit Europe, Asia, and Africa, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.“We are repeatedly receiving reports about targeted Russian attacks on grain silos…

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.

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…

Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany have fallen again in dry weather on Friday, with some vessels no longer able to sail, shipping operators and brokers said.Rhine cargo shipping continues, but with vessels sometimes forced to sail three-quarters empty with cargo owners often needing to pay for four vessels to transport their loads instead of one.Economists estimate Rhine disruption could knock half a percentage point off Germany's economic growth this year. The reference waterline level at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz was at 42 centimetres on Friday…

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.