Rhine water levels on the rise after drought crippled shipping capacity

Water levels on the Franco-German section of the Rhine river are so low that some vessels cannot sail even when empty, although long-awaited rain has begun to ease bottlenecks along Europe's main commercial waterway.

Water levles on the Rhine has reached a critically low level following two months of drought that has impacted the shipping of goods on Europe's largest commercial waterway. AFP - TORSTEN SILZ

Weeks of drought across Europe have added to supply chain problems as vessels have had to lighten their loads to ensure they can travel along depleted water channels.

According to Roberto Spranzi, director of the DTG shipping cooperative that operates about 100 cargo vessels on the Rhine, "empty ships can no longer sail in some cases ... there are technical and physical reasons for this: the drive is aft, so loading must be done in the forward area so that the ship can lie straight in the water."

Germany's Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration said at the weekend that expected rain is forecast to increase levels in the Rhine by 50-to-80 centimetres in the coming days, adding they would have to climb by 1-1.5 metres to reach levels typical for this time of the year.

ICYMI: Germany’s Rhine river water levels are very low because of unusually hot and dry weather, preventing many vessels from navigating the shipping route fully loaded. Here are some facts about why shipping on the Rhine is important for the economy: https://t.co/DZCfcvZN0m pic.twitter.com/1LT3AlNK77

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 22, 2022

Shipping cargoes cut by three-quarters

However, Bastien Dion, head of the Strasbourg-Rhine unit for Voies Navigables de France, has said the said he is not overly optimistic about the rain: "We can't say that this is enough to put an end to the drought episode".

For the past two months, the drought has been affecting all the main rivers of Europe.

On the Rhine – Europe's largest commercial river with 300 million tonnes of goods transported each year – the loading of barges has been reduced by three quarters to avoid running aground and paralysing all river traffic. 

Dion has remarked that barges have been loaded with between 400 to 500 tonnes as opposed to the usual 3,000 tonnes, to avoid getting stuck at the town of Kaub – the lowest point on the river.

As a result, the price of goods has risen and shipping traffic has fallen by 7% compared to last year.

Approximately 50 ships pass through the lock each day – instead of the average of 70 – and if the cost becomes too high in relation to the transport, the carrier or client may decide that shipping goods on the river is no longer profitable.

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Rail freight comes out on top

However, the drop in Rhine's water level is not a new problem – in 2018, the level was even lower.

But at the time, it was less of a problem as the raw materials market was more subdued as supply chain disruptions were at a minimum before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Shipping on the Rhine has reportedly doubled in the past 50 years, and the boom in international trade over the past 20 years has seen the volumes being transported by inland waterways increase exponentially.

Claire Merlin, director of the Autonomous Port of Strasbourg say they currently have 17 rotations per week by rail "and this is something that is set to grow. Some of the goods have been postponed. But today, the trains are effectively full."

As for trucks, which are usually more expensive than transport by boat, they are now benefiting from the rise in the price of waterways.

But they can transport far less goods and are far more polluting – and a barge can carry the equivalent of nearly 60 trucks.