Cargo shipping costs rise as Rhine water levels drop again
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FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship cruises on the Rhine river at low water levels along the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, July 30, 2026. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
HAMBURG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Water levels in the Rhine in Germany have fallen again this week after mostly dry weather, the country’s inland navigation agency said on Friday, with commodity traders reporting rising costs for cargo shipping.
• German companies suffered from low Rhine water levels this summer, with the industry facing higher transport costs, logistics bottlenecks and curbed production.
• Mostly dry weather this week in river catchment areas means levels have dropped again, with vessels sailing part-loaded, commodity traders said. More freight has been transferred to road and railway transport, but the river is holding above record-low levels in August.
• Transport prices are rising as vessels are sailing with less cargo and loads must be spread around several ships. Prices for tanker transport from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe jumped to about €165-€170 ($191.43-$197.23) a ton on Friday, up from around €100 last week.
• Inland navigation agency WSV said the navigable water gauge at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz was around 21 cm on Friday, down from 34 cm on Monday and 50 cm last week. The Rhine at Kaub fell below 10 cm in mid-August, below the previous lowest recorded level of 25 centimetres in 2018. The river is about 1 metre deeper than the navigable water gauge.
• The WSV said that no major improvement in river water levels is expected in the coming week but some expected rain could keep the river stable around current levels.
• Germany and several other European countries endured successive heatwaves and scant rainfall this summer, pushing down water levels in waterways such as the Rhine, a vital shipping route for grain, metal ores, coal and refined oil products.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
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