Rhine River: Rising Levels Allow For Increased Shipping Capacity

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 likely to be under levels allowing normal sailings."

Extreme dry weather in March and April mean low water is hampering shipping on all the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.

But freight deliveries are still continuing, with loads divided among more vessels, increasing costs for cargo owners.

Rain in south Germany raised Kaub water levels enough to enable ships to carry around 1,400 metric tons of cargo on Thursday against only 870 tons late last week, traders said.

Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for ships not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners. Consignments must be shipped by several vessels instead of one, also raising costs.

Prices for a tanker freighter sailing from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe were still rising, reaching about 90 euros a ton on Thursday from 86 euros a ton earlier this week. This was up from 46 euros in early April and 34 euros in late March.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, ores, coal and oil products, including heating oil.

German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low Rhine water levels.

(Reuters)