Rain in the past week has raised water levels on the river Rhine in Germany enabling cargo vessels to sail with more freight after shallow water hindered shipping in early May, commodity traders said on Wednesday. Dry weather in April meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded.
Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners. It also means loads must be spread among several vessels sailing part loaded, also increasing costs.
Rain in the last week now draining into the river means water levels have risen and have reached normal levels allowing full loads in northern river stretches around Duisburg after some vessels sailed only half full last week, traders said.
Further south at Cologne and the chokepoint of Kaub vessels can sail 70-80 per cent full, traders said.
But water at Kaub could return to levels allowing full loads in coming days as rain drains into the river, they said.
The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, chemicals, coal and oil products, including heating oil.
German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought led to unusually low water levels on the river.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Keith Weir)
