Freight shipping on the river Rhine in Germany has returned to normal levels, after heavy rain raised water levels.
Levels on the Rhine had been low for approximately six months, after a hot dry summer and a dry autumn. Freight vessels were forced to sail only partly loaded, which increased the cost of deliveries.
“The heavy, repeated rainfall in the past days was just what was required,” one grains trader said. “Vessels and barges are now able to take on full loads to all German terminals on the river.”
The Rhine is an important transport route for freight commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products such as heating oil.