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Rhine River 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.

07 Aug 2023

Powering the Transition to Zero-emissions with Hydrogen Fuel Cells

(Photo: Ballard Power Systems)

By now, it is a well-known fact that the marine industry contributes significantly to the greenhouse gasses causing climate change—and the impact is predicted to rise as the demand for shipping by sea increases. Action is needed now, and the majority of ship operators are adopting or planning zero-emission solutions to accommodate upcoming emission reduction targets.A key zero-emission technology that will be a critical enabler for decarbonizing the marine industry—now and in the future—is hydrogen fuel cells.Today…

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.

27 Jul 2023

Rain Raises Rhine River Levels in Germany; North Still Too Shallow

Cologne - Credit: Luis/AdobeStock

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…

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…

08 Mar 2023

French Strike Disrupts Rhine River Traffic

© philipbird123 / Adobe Stock

Rhine river traffic came to a standstill in some places on Wednesday due to strikes against French government plans to raise the pension age, with sections of the river in France, Germany and Switzerland affected, a CGT union representative and Germany's Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) said.Around 1.28 million people in France had participated in a sixth day of protests on Tuesday against a draft law that would see the pension age delayed by two years to 64.A blockade at Strasbourg lock on the Rhine was cleared by police and an evacuation of the blockades at the Marckolsheim lock…

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…

15 Sep 2022

Maritime Risk Symposium 2022: The Importance of Inland Systems to the MTS

Russia's invasion of Ukraine emphasizes the importance of efficient maritime traffic to national security and the world economy. Pictured is an aerial cityscape of Kiev and river Dnipro at sunset, with a tugboat and barge heading down river Dnieper. Copyright Kirill Gorlov/AdobeStock

The 2022 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS) is scheduled to be held Nov. 15-17, 2022, hosted by Argonne National Laboratory at the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois. MRS is an annual international event focused on risks involving the global maritime transportation system (MTS). For the MRS, the U.S. Coast Guard partners with the sponsor, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and the hosting agency. MRS began in 2011 and has grown in size, scope and interest. The MRS event will be followed by the U.S.

19 Aug 2022

Rhine Water Too Low Even for Some Empty Vessels

© Thomas Bethge / Adobe Stock

Water levels on Germany's Rhine river are so low that some vessels cannot sail even when empty, a shipping cooperative said on Friday, although long-awaited rain has begun to ease bottlenecks on one of the country's main commercial routes.Weeks of drought across Europe and beyond have added to supply chain problems as vessels have had to lighten their loads to ensure they can travel along depleted water channels."Empty ships can no longer sail in some cases," Roberto Spranzi, director of the DTG shipping cooperative that operates about 100 cargo vessels on the Rhine…

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)

04 Feb 2022

European Oil Shipments Delayed After Cyber Attacks

© erikdegraaf / Adobe Stock

Tanker and barge shipments in and out of Europe's biggest oil hub have been delayed by up to a week as four storage companies scramble to resume operations after cyber attacks, sources familiar with the matter said.Since the end of last week, storage company Oiltanking and oil trading firm Mabanaft, both owned by Germany's Marquard & Bahls, have been hit by hackers. Belgium's SEA-TANK and Dutch fuel storage firm Evos have also been affected.The companies have had to suspend some operations, affecting oil flows in the Netherlands, Belgium and across Germany.

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…

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

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.

27 Apr 2020

Low Water Hampers Rhine River Shipping

© Hansenn / Adobe Stock

Low water levels after recent dry weather are preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany and adding surcharges to the usual freight rates, traders said on Monday.Low water is hampering shipping on the entire German section of the river, 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.German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in 2018 af

15 Apr 2020

Tankers Pile Up Off Europe's Coast

Stena Polaris (Photo: Michael Cooper / Concordia Maritime)

Dozens of tankers holding jet fuel and gasoline are at anchor in sea lanes around Europe's main storage hubs, unable to discharge their cargoes as onshore tanks are full to capacity following the collapse in demand linked to the coronavirus crisis.Nearly 1 million tonnes of refined products are parked on around 30 tankers off Europe's coast, Reuters calculations found.According to shipping data and trade sources, tankers have dropped anchor near to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp…

12 Jul 2019

Rhine water levels hit 2-month low

File Image: Cargo movement along an inland waterway in Germany (CREDIT: AdobeStock / 
 © digitalstock

Water levels along the Rhine river, a key waterway for transporting commodities and other products from coastal areas to inland locations in France, Germany and Switzerland, fell to their lowest since May 21, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.Levels at the Kaub <WL-KAUB> location in Germany hit 201 centimetres and have been steadily declining since late June, the data showed.Oil barge brokers said the low water levels meant barges were leaving the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub to inland locations not fully laden.Water levels along the river hit a record low of 25 cm in October

10 Dec 2018

Rhine River Shipping Returns to Normal as Water Levels Rise

A typical tow arrangement on German inalnd waterways / CREDIT AdobeStock / © digitalstock

Freight shipping on the river Rhine in Germany has returned to normal after heavy rain in the past week raised water levels, traders said on Monday.Water levels on the Rhine had been low for around six months after a hot dry summer and a dry autumn, forcing vessels to sail only partly loaded and increasing the cost of commodity deliveries."The heavy, repeated rainfall in the past days was just what was required," one grains trader said.

09 Nov 2018

Low EU River Stir Fuel Markets in Singapore

File Image: An inland cargo movement on the Danube River. CREDIT: Adobestock / © digitalstock

Rhine water levels hit record lows in October; river is a key fuel transport hub for Europe.Low water levels on the Rhine river have caused a fuel supply deficit in parts of Europe's industrial heartlands that is sucking up cargoes from more than 10,000 km away in Singapore.Following a long, scorching summer, water levels on the Rhine - a key commodity shipping lane connecting industrial centres in Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands to major seaports - fell to record lows…

18 Oct 2018

Record Low Rhine Levels Hampers Barge Trade

© Markus Mohr / Adobe Stock

Water levels on the Rhine River fell to a record low on Thursday and were forecast to fall even further, hampering oil product barge trading in northwest Europe.Water levels at the Kaub point of the river fell to 31 cm, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, the lowest level in data available since September 1995.Shallow water on the Rhine in Germany means freight vessels cannot sail fully loaded.The river is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products including heating oil.