Key facts
- Barge traffic on the River Rhine is almost completely halted due to record low water levels.
- The Kaub bottleneck gauge dropped to 17cm and is expected to fall to 4cm by August 14.
- Barge loads are drastically reduced, impacting oil product supply in western Germany.
- A leak at the Bayernoil refinery has also reduced supply in southern Germany.
- Several German states have suspended Sunday and holiday truck bans to mitigate supply issues.
Barge traffic along the River Rhine has largely come to a standstill, disrupting oil product supply in western Germany, barge operators said. The gauge at the key Kaub bottleneck again reached a record low over the weekend, at 17cm, and the federal waterways and shipping administration expects this to fall to as little as 4cm by 14 August. The historically low level has slashed the number of barges able to pass Kaub, and the loads they can carry without running aground. A German shipowner said a vessel with a maximum capacity of 1,200t is moving carrying just 180t, and the voyage to Karlsruhe from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub now takes five days instead of two. Specialised vessels, which are wider and longer but draw less water, can carry a maximum of 700t. Several states have suspended a law that forbids truck traffic on Sundays and holidays. Product availability in western Germany, especially for road fuels, has tightened in recent weeks, traders said. Many traders that usually buy at tank farms along the Rhine are diverting to the Miro consortium's 310,000 b/d Karlsruhe refinery in southwestern Germany. But supply in southern Germany has also fallen after a leak at a mild hydrocracker at the Bayernoil consortium's 207,000 b/d Vohburg-Neustadt refinery prompted two local suppliers to pull supply from the spot market on 7 August. The restrictions are likely to last a week.