Splash247: Drought threatens Europe’s port hinterlands

Published by Splash247

Record low water is severing key inland links between Europe’s major ports and industrial heartlands, with the Rhine, Danube and Dutch canal network all under growing pressure.

Europe’s ports are facing mounting hinterland disruption as drought drives river and canal levels to historic lows, threatening one of the continent’s most important cargo distribution networks.

The most serious pressure is on the Rhine, where German inland shipping association BDB has warned that commercial navigation through the critical Kaub bottleneck could become impossible if water levels fall much further.

The Kaub gauge, south of Koblenz, has dropped to around 16 cm, leaving a calculated navigable channel depth of only about 1.29 m. Forecasts suggest the gauge could fall into single digits.

Such conditions would effectively cut the Rhine in two.

To the north, barges could continue moving cargo between Rotterdam, Antwerp, Amsterdam and western Germany. South of Kaub, vessels could still operate on the Main, Moselle and Neckar and through the Main-Danube Canal, but the vital through-route linking Europe’s largest ports with southern Germany and beyond would be broken.

The impact is already showing up in freight markets. Some barges are sailing with only around 20% of normal payloads, forcing shippers to use multiple vessels for cargoes normally moved by one. Tanker barge rates from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe have more than tripled from late June levels.

The Rhine remains a critical hinterland artery for Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges, carrying chemicals, petroleum products, ores, coal, containers and project cargo deep into continental Europe. German states have already relaxed Sunday truck restrictions in an attempt to ease the pressure.

Similar problems are emerging elsewhere. On the Danube, record low water is disrupting grain movements towards Constanta, one of the Black Sea’s most important agricultural export gateways. Barges are being forced to reduce loads while Romanian authorities step up dredging to maintain navigable channels.

In the Netherlands, navigation through the Eefde locks on the Twentekanaal has also been disrupted because water levels can no longer be maintained safely, pushing more cargo onto trucks.