River Rhine high water levels threaten closure to barges on Friday

LONDON (ICIS)–Rising water levels on the river Rhine could shut the key petrochemicals waterway in northwest Europe to barge shipping as soon as Friday, according to the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV).

Heavy rain in southern Germany has caused widespread flooding, with dozens of deaths and many more injured.

“At the moment, it seems probable that the water levels at the gauging station of Koblenz will exceed the maximum shipping water level tomorrow [Friday] afternoon/night,” said a spokesperson for the WSV.

Koblenz is located west of Frankfurt and south of Cologne, at the heart of the industrial areas along the Rhine.

“This [water levels exceeding the maximum levels] will hinder shipping along the middle Rhine for some time,” it added, without clarifying how long disruption could last.

Last week, the WSV said water levels would have to rise to around 6.4 metres to impede shipping.

“The maximum water level for shipping between the kilometres 540 and 566 is set at 640cm in the well-known gauging station of Kaub. With water-levels exceeding this value, shipping is forbidden,” it said at the time.

‘NOT FAR’
Ten days later and after continuous precipitation in southwest Germany, the water levels are now threatening to reach that maximum in the Koblenz area.

Sources in the European petrochemical industry have concurred that water levels are so high that the river would be close to being shut to barges.

This, in turn, is already causing a knock-on effect on petrochemicals logistics in northwest Europe, one trader in Germany said.

“We are not far away from the Rhine being closed for barges … At 640cm levels, all barge traffic will be stopped,” said the trader.

“As a consequence, there is a huge RTCs [rail tank cars] volume blocking some hubs like Marl as they cannot discharge in time.”

A buyer of acrylonitrile (ACN) said that as of Thursday, traffic on the river was still moving, but also warned that water levels would rise further, adding that there was “a lot of disruption” for RTC logistics.

A methanol player concluded: “Shipments for the distribution market in Germany is limited due to the high water levels [on the Rhine].”

Forecasts by the WSV show water levels at Kaub could reach the maximum level of 6.4 metres on 19-21 July.

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Source: WSV

Source: Google Maps

Front page picture: Air view of the damage caused by floods in Schuld, south of Bonn
Source: Michael Probst/AP/Shutterstock 

Additional reporting by Eashani Chavda, Jane Massingham, and Nel Weddle