German sailing capacity declined due to sunken water levels in the Rhine River

Posted on July 7, 2023   |  

Germany remained inadequate in northern and central regions for containerships to sail through at full capacity due to sunken water levels in the Rhine River amid recent rainfall.

The river became shallow to adapt fully loaded vessels at the tightened point of Kaub and northern areas around Cologne and Duisburg.

Some vessels can only voyage at half capacity in these northern regions. 

Vessel operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to recompense for the losses obtained from vessels sailing at less than full capacity.

However, in the last week, rainfall put water levels back to normal in the southern sections of the river.