Water level in the Rhine rises again

Due to the current weather and the lack of rain in Germany, the low water level has become a big problem for the barge transport from Rotterdam to the german inland depots.

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

In the mid of August around 20 ships were stuck in traffic in Germany’s river Rhine and one of them had to throw anchor due to an engine failure, what made the situation even more worse.

Weeks of baking temperatures and scant rainfall have drained water levels in the river, Germany’s commercial artery, causing delays to shipping and pushing freight costs up. The disruption could knock half a percentage point off economic growth in Europe’s biggest economy this year, say economists

Expected rain in the coming days is forecast to increase levels in the Rhine by 50-to-80 centimeters in the coming days, a spokesperson for the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration said, adding they would have to climb by 1-1.5 meters to reach levels typical for this time of the year.

Water levels at the Kaub reference point WL-KAUB were at 34 centimeters in the Mid auf August. Levels in the 30-35 centimeter range are acceptable for shipping – if expensive and with big losses in loadable cargo so as not to weigh down vessels too much.