Record low Rhine, Danube plus extreme heat cause force majeures and nuclear shutdowns
As mainland Europe continues to bake in a summer heatwave and drought, chemical logistics problems are worsening along the river Rhine, while low water levels on the Danube and other water courses have forced widespread shutdowns of nuclear power facilities. A long period of dry weather in Europe has reduced flows of water into the ...
Record low water levels on the Rhine and Danube rivers have triggered force majeure situations and led to nuclear power facility shutdowns across mainland Europe. The prolonged summer heatwave and severe drought have drastically reduced water flow, causing cargo loadings to plummet to below 20% of normal capacity in some sections.
For instance, water levels at Kaub on the Rhine have dropped to a record low of just 19 centimeters on August 5th, below the long-term average of 200 centimeters. This disruption in river transport has severely impacted chemical plants that rely on barge shipments for raw materials and finished products, leading to numerous force majeure declarations.
BASF, for example, declared force majeure on several surfactant supplies from its European sites in July, while Lanxess halted phthalic anhydride production at its Uerdingen facility due to low Rhine water levels affecting the supply of orthoxylene feedstock barges. Similar issues have emerged in the European markets for butadiene, isopropanol, and polyols, as low water levels limit barge loadings and force chemical sites to switch to more expensive truck and rail logistics.
The situation is expected to worsen if demand rises in September, despite the ongoing heatwave and drought conditions.
Written by urgent.news from Hellenic Shipping News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
