(Changes abbreviation in paragraph eight from HGK to HKM)
HAMBURG, Aug 12 (Reuters) – The river Rhine in Germany has fallen to new lows, stranding cargo vessels, the country’s inland navigation agency said on Wednesday, as Europe has entered another heatwave.
• German companies report growing disruption from Rhine water levels that have hit a series of record lows.
• Chemical producers, utilities, steelmakers and agricultural traders have warned of higher costs, transport bottlenecks and curbed production.
• Inland navigation agency WSV said the navigable water depth at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz was 12 centimetres (4.72 inches) on Wednesday, below the previous lowest recorded level of 25 cm in 2018. The river is about 1 metre deeper than the navigable depth.
• Most vessels cannot sail either north or south through Kaub so north/south river navigation is effectively stopping at this point, one commodity trader said.
• The trader said some vessels were returning north to seek work and others were trapped south of Kaub.
• Loads have to be spread among vessels to prevent them running aground in shallow water, and sailings on northern sections of the river continue often only 20% full, traders said.
• Logistics operator RheinCargo said was organising additional rail freight transport of raw material supplies to the Duisburg steel producer Huettenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (HKM), part of the Salzgitter
• “Under normal circumstances, HGK Dry Shipping transports around 24,000 (metric) tons of coal and ore per day from Rotterdam to Duisburg,” HGK said. “However, because of the current low water levels, only about 14,500 tons per day can presently be moved by inland waterways.”
• RheinCargo will initially operate three weekly freight train round trips between Rotterdam and Duisburg, western Germany, until the end of September with each train transporting around 2,000 tons of coal for the steelworks.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
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