As Europe's rivers recede, shippers scramble to limit damage
Low water is forcing barges to carry lighter loads, and Contargo says surcharges have topped 1,000 euros per container at strained points.
- On August 14, the Rhine water gauge at Kaub fell to six centimetres, dropping below the 2018 record low and severely disrupting shipping along Europe's most vital waterway.
- Germany's Rhine section runs freely without reservoirs, making it highly dependent on rainfall while scientists directly link sustained water shortages to climate change.
- Barges now carry only 400 tonnes, down from 1,500 tonnes average, forcing operators to impose low-water surcharges exceeding $1,170 per container at bottlenecks like Cologne.
- High transport costs at 5.3% are driving inflation across the euro area, pressuring the European Central Bank to weigh additional interest rate increases to combat persistent price rises.
- Financial expert Holger Schulz of the German Savings Banks Association recommends businesses build higher inventory levels as insurance against increasingly unpredictable supply chain disruptions from climate extremes.
11 Articles
11 Articles
All the long-lost relics unearthed by Europe's drying rivers amid summer heatwave
A man stands on top of an old World War II-era ship from the Danube riverbed in Baja, Hungary, on Aug. 8.Robert Nemeti/Anadolu via Getty ImagesRecord-setting heat has hit Europe, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit.The low water levels unearthed prehistoric and 20th-century relics along Europe's key rivers.Low water levels have also drastically reduced freight transportation.A combination of severe heat and little rain has left ma…
As Europe's rivers recede, shippers scramble to limit damage
Major rivers on the planet's fastest-warming continent, including the Rhine and Danube, have sustained water shortages that scientists directly link to climate change. The situation is especially critical in Germany on the Rhine, the core of the European inland waterway transport network. "The situation is unprecedented," a spokesperson for Maersk, the Danish shipping giant, told AFP. "Today, most of the inland ports along the Rhine cannot be re…
Exceptionally low levels on European rivers, affected by drought and record heat waves since the beginning of the summer, have hampered river transport in recent weeks and are also leading to increased transport prices for goods within the EU. A TASR correspondent drew attention to Thursday's analysis by the AFP news agency. While the situation...
The first fuel supply problems begin to appear in Europe after the drought lowered the rivers to exceptionally small levels and blocked part of river transport. In Alsace they were already...
In Kaub, the Rhine fell to 6 centimetres on 14 August, a historic record. The barges had to reduce their load or stop, while the freight tipped towards a road and a rail already energized. The bill exceeds 1,300 euros per container on the most exposed sections.
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