Rhine News

Steelpaint GmbH has reported strong growth in orders for corrosion protection coatings on Germany’s inland waterways, with a succession of new contracts awarded by local authorities and hydraulic engineering contractors throughout 2025.Among the raft of new projects is the work WSA Main is carrying out on the Main River at Viereth-Trunstadt. The Main is a major tributary of the Rhine forming one of Europe’s most important inland transport routes between the North Sea and the Black…

HGK Shipping celebrated the naming ceremony for the gas tanker, “GAS 96”, in Rotterdam on October 9, 2025. This is the third gas tanker that combines optimization for operations in shallow waters with a diesel-electric “future-fuel-ready” drive system for Europe’s largest inland waterway shipping company.The “GAS 96” will operate on the Rhine routes between Rotterdam, Antwerp and Cologne with immediate effect and transport gases that have been liquefied under pressure for the chemicals group, LyondellBasell (LYB).

An EU-funded project is helping accelerate the adoption of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies that transform carbon dioxide emissions into valuable resources such as fuels, chemicals, and construction materials.CCU is based on the principle of capturing carbon dioxide and reusing it in various forms, such as e-fuels created by combining captured CO2 with renewable hydrogen.The ECO2Fuel project is pioneering this approach by developing a 1MW low-temperature electrolyzer…

Repeated rain in past days has raised water levels on all of the river Rhine in Germany to normal levels allowing cargo vessels to sail with full loads, commodity traders said on Tuesday.Dry weather and a heatwave in June and July meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded.

Low water levels following a drought and heatwave in western Europe are hindering traffic on the Rhine river in Germany after weekend rain caused only a moderate rise in water levels, commodity traders said on Monday.Low water is hampering shipping all along the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, and vessels are generally only able to sail about half full.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded…

Unusually low water levels on the Danube River in Hungary are affecting shipping, agriculture, and local ecosystems along Europe's second-longest river, which is a major transport route across the continent.Temperatures peaked at 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in Budapest this week as much of Europe baked in an early summer heatwave linked to the death of at least eight people.As a result of the low water levels, cargo ships must leave behind more than half of their cargo and can only operate at 30-40% capacity, Attila Bencsik, deputy president of the Hungarian Shipping Association

SCHOTTEL founder Josef Becker invented the fully steerable rudder propeller, an innovation that continues to shape the maritime industry today.Since its introduction, more than 17,000 SCHOTTEL RudderPropellers have been sold, powering a wide variety of vessels on nearly every major body of water around the globe. This year marks the 75th anniversary of this development.With the invention of the SCHOTTEL RudderPropeller (SRP) in 1950, ships could, for the first time, use the full power of their propulsion system for maneuvering.

A heat wave in western Europe has lowered water levels on Germany's Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners due to additional surcharges as their vessels were unable to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Monday.Low water has limited shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.At Kaub, cargo vessels could only sail about 50% full, at Duisburg and Cologne between 40-50% full.Shallow water leads vessel operators to impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for the vessels being unabl

Rain over the Easter weekend in Germany has raised Rhine river water levels, with vessels able to carry more cargo, though the river is still too shallow for normal sailings, commodity traders said on Tuesday.Extreme lack of rain in March and April resulted in low water levels hampering April shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.In northern regions around Duisburg vessels were able to sail about 80% full, against only half full last week…

Rain in past few days has raised Rhine river water levels in Germany, with vessels able to carry more cargo although most are still sailing around half full, commodity traders said on Thursday."Large volumes of rain have fallen in the Rhine region in past days and there has been an improvement in the low water problem," one trader said. "More rain is forecast and if it actually arrives, the parts of the Rhine could see a significant recovery next week, although water is still…

Freight shipping costs on the Rhine river in Germany surged this week as water levels fell further, compelling vessels to sail less than half full, commodity traders said on Thursday.Freight deliveries were still taking place, with loads divided among more vessels, which increases costs for cargo owners. But rain is at last forecast for next week, which could raise river levels, they said.Prices for a tanker freighter sailing from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe rose to about 80 euros ($88.58) a tonne of cargo from 46 euros last week and 34 euros in late March…

Low water levels after recent dry weather are preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany, with cargo owners facing higher transport costs, commodity traders said on Thursday (April 3).Extreme lack of rain in March and April means low water is hampering shipping on all the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, with levels falling again this week, traders said.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners.

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 Tuesday.Low water is hampering shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.At Kaub, cargo vessels can only sail about 50% full.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners.

EST-Floattech was contracted by Electric Marine Support (EMS), a Dutch system integrator, to participate in projects for Rhenus and its fleet enhancement initiative. Rhenus PartnerShip, the shipping branch of the company, invested in sustainable inland waterway transportation with three new inland shipping combo vessels, Mannheim I+II, Wörth I+II and Ludwigshafen.Mannheim I+II and  Wörth I+II will sail with a hybrid propulsion systems: one diesel-electric vessel and one fuel-cell system inland waterway vessel.

Another trip around the sun and Greg has asked me once again to talk about “great ships.”As an older engineer I find it much more difficult to judge greatness in ships. It was much easier when I was young.When I was quite young and living near the Dutch rivers, I thought the greatest ships were Rhine barges with cars on them. I am talking about the inland cargo vessels that ran up and down the Rhine and through the rest of the European canal and river systems. As a six-year-old, I found the the Rhine barges with cars were so much cooler than Rhine barges without cars.

The Mosel in west Germany was partially reopened to cargo shipping on Monday after a temporary lock was installed over the weekend, but the number of vessels able to sail will be limited, navigation authorities said.The river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, was closed to inland waterways shipping last week after an accident which damaged a lock at Mueden south of Koblenz and repairs are likely to last until spring 2025.But a temporary lock was installed over the weekend and tested successfully, the German navigation agency WSA said. The first trapped ship transited the temporary lock system on Monday without problems and sailed towards the Rhine, the WSA said.

Rain has raised water levels on the Rhine in Germany but most of the river remains too shallow for cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Wednesday, following a bout of dry weather in August.Ship operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.Shallow water continues to hinder shipping on most of the Rhine in Germany including Duisburg, Cologne and the chokepoint of Kaub, but vessels are able to take on larger loads, traders said.More rain is forecast in river catchment areas on Wednesday and

The river Rhine in south Germany reopened to cargo shipping on Friday after being closed by high water since the weekend, navigation authorities said.Falling water levels after dryer weather this week mean Rhine river shipping has re-started around Maxau in south Germany, the German inland waterways navigation agency said. This means sailings to Switzerland are again possible.The river had been closed to freight shipping at Maxau over the weekend after heavy rain caused extensive flooding in south Germany.Shipping on northern sections of the river had been operating normally this week…

SEAFAR, a Belgian technology and service provider for remote-controlled inland waterway shipping operations, has set up the first Remote Operations Center in Germany; a project completed in conjunction with HGK Shipping and Reederei Deymann.The Remote Operations Center, opened on February 28, 2024, enables captains to navigate vessels on inland waterways from dry land, a development seen as central to stemming problems from the shortage of specialist workers. The partners are working with the public authorities to use the permits…

Parts of the river Rhine in southern Germany were closed to cargo shipping on Monday after heavy rains raised water levels, navigation authorities said.Rhine river shipping stopped around Maxau and Mannheim in south Germany, the German inland waterways navigation agency WSA said.The high levels of water leave vessels insufficient overhead space to sail under bridges, and prevents vessels sailing to Switzerland.Shipping on northern sections of the river is operating normally, including the important points of Duisburg and Cologne.The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities includin

Monique Hezel-Reyntjens will retire effective December 31, 2023, having worked in and led what is now known as BeKa HGK GmbH for almost 42 years. Her parents, Franz Josef and Corrie Becker founded the dry shipping company in 1982. Monique Hezel-Reyntjenshas played a significant role in the success story at BeKa HGK; she worked in the chartering section from the outset and in the course of time became a shareholder and has been its managing director up to now. She will be succeeded by Florian Bleikamp (34)…

Holland Shipyards Group announced it has delivered H2 Barge 2, the second hydrogen-powered vessel for Future Proof Shipping.The vessel has undergone a complete retrofit from traditional internal combustion technology to cutting-edge hydrogen fuel technology. The project involved removing the main engine and reduction gearbox, replacing the diesel engine driving the bow thruster and diesel generators with a new modular propulsion system. This system includes electric motors, hydrogen tanks…

SCHOTTEL reports it has been selected to equip five new traffic safety vessels for the German Rhine Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) with electrically driven SCHOTTEL RudderPropellers.The Bolle shipyard in Derben, Germany, has been commissioned with the construction of the modern multipurpose vessels following tenders submitted throughout Europe.The modern traffic safety vessels will each be fitted with two SCHOTTEL RudderPropellers type SRP 100 which are being produced for use with vertically mounted electric drive motors (L-Drive variant) for the very first time.