The Rhine's coastal water level has rapidly declined leading barge operators to impose a low water surcharge (LWS).

Last year, the water level of the Rhine fell to 32cm, forcing the closure of the Rhine. Although this level is far from the level of last year, MSC announced that it was passing on the LWS levied by its barge operator partners on services to and from Antwerp and Rotterdam after the Rhine water level fell below 150cm to customers.

"although it is navigable, capacity is reduced," the shipping company told customers. "Therefore, arrival at the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam cannot be guaranteed. In addition, all costs incurred in this case, such as demurrage (Detention), demurrage (Demurrage) and storage costs, are not borne by MSC."

The Rhine is divided into four sections: Duisburg, Emerich, Kaub and Cologne. Each section may have a different transportation capacity. Kaub has a transportation capacity of less than 81cm, while the carrier's transportation along the Duisburg section is at 181cm. Obligations terminate.

The MSC states that "the low water surcharge applies only to domestic and international transport by barge or barge road transport along the Rhine from Antwerp and Rotterdam to Germany, France and Switzerland." Branch services between Antwerp and Rotterdam are not affected. "

shippers are used to the chaos of Europe's inland transport industry, with congestion often lasting for days. A former barge owner said the news of the surcharge only "adds to the difficulties that cargo owners who want to use European shipping are grappling with", adding that the industry as a whole "remains in deep crisis".

In Belgium alone, more than 275 transport companies (mainly trucking companies) have filed for bankruptcy this year. "The inland waterway industry is facing many challenges, such as a surplus of vessels, a drop in transport demand, etc. This has led to a drop in freight rates."

However, the former shipowner pointed out that despite the decline in cargo traffic, container capacity has seen a "significant" growth, up 10.95 percent, the 11th consecutive year of growth, and said barge operators need to work hard to improve efficiency.

They said: "There is no doubt that the low water conditions on the Rhine will cause people to switch to road transport-railways cannot handle such a large volume-which will aggravate the already severely congested road network.

Source: Ningbo Shipping