The Rhine Level In Germany Drop Again, Causing The Freight Rates To Rise

Shipbrokers said on August 5th that due to the hot weather, the water level of the Rhine continued to drop, and vessels could not sail on the Rhine with a full load, causing shipping costs to rise.

The transportation on the river continues, but sometimes ships are forced to be 75% empty.

Spot prices for a liquid carrier from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe south of Kaub rose to around 94 euros ($96.15) a tonne on the 5th, up 2 euros on the day and from around 20 euros a tonne in June, shipbrokers said farther apart.”We’re still sailing, but we’re only able to load about 25 to 35 percent of our capacity,” said Roberto Splan, head of the DTG Shipping Partnership, which operates around 100 vessels on the Rhine.

Qi (Roberto Spranzi) said. “This means that customers typically need three vessels to transport their cargo instead of one.”BASF has concentrated on leasing boats suitable for shallow waters and is looking for alternative modes of transport, such as rail.

Shipping capacity has been stretched as Germany increases demand for coal-fired power generation in response to reduced Russian gas supplies, he said.