In Germany, rain raises the level of the Rhine, but ships remain partially loaded

HAMBURG (Reuters) – Rain has raised the level of Germany’s Rhine but most of the river remains too shallow for cargo ships to sail at full capacity, commodities traders said on Wednesday, after a dry spell in August.

Ship operators have imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for ships sailing partially empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.

Shallow waters continue to hamper navigation on most of the Rhine in Germany, including Duisburg, Cologne and the Kaub bottleneck, but ships are able to take on heavier loads, traders said.

Further rainfall is forecast in river catchments on Wednesday and in the coming days, which should raise river levels to levels that allow normal navigation later this week or early next week, they said.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for raw materials such as grain, minerals, ores, chemicals, ores, coal and petroleum products, including heating oil.

German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in the summer of 2022 after a drought and heatwave led to unusually low water levels on the river.

But repeated rains at the start of summer kept the level of the Rhine high, allowing navigation to operate normally until the end of August.

(Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by Gareth Jones)