Heavy rainfall, flooding in Germany hits supply routes
Tom Brown
04-Jun-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–Torrential rain and flooding in Germany has led to evacuations in parts of the south of the country, hitting already-strained supply lines through central Europe and halting transport along some sections of the River Rhine.
German authorities are reporting moderate to severe flooding across the south, as well as along much of the Rhine, one of Europe’s key industrial shipping arteries, with disruption expected to last for at least several more days.
Water levels along sections of the river have doubled in the space of a few days as heavy storms have hammered central Europe, with several deaths reported.
Flows along the river at the Worms junction, slightly upstream from the Ludwigshafen chemicals hub rising from around 350cm on 31 May to nearly 700cm on Tuesday morning, breaching the most severe flooding classification.
Levels at the Kaub station rose to more than 620cm on Tuesday and are expected to peak later today or on Wednesday.
Source: WSV
According to a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV), the water has exceeded maximum shipping levels at the Maxau, Speyer, Mannheim, Worms, Mainz, Bingen and Kaub measuring points.
Shipping is currently closed along a stretch of more than 200km of the river, from Iffezheim in Baden-Wurttemberg in southern Germany to Bad Salzig in Rhineland-Palatinate state in the west of the country. The closure is expected to last two to three more days, according to the WSV spokesperson.
Source: German federal state data
Production at BASF’s Ludwigshafen complex is unaffected so far, a company spokesperson said, despite some flooding close to the Rhine near the site that has been evacuated.
“The production facilities at the Ludwigshafen site are located on grounds that are above the flood level. Only the Rhine foreland, a narrow strip along the river, is situated at a lower elevation and has been evacuated. However, no production takes place in this area,” the spokesperson said.
“The current high water levels of the Rhine river do not have any impact on the production at the Ludwigshafen site of BASF. BASF continuously monitors the development of the Rhine water level and takes appropriate measures in advance if necessary,” it added.
The spokesperson acknowledged the suspension of waterway transportation along stretches of the river, and stated that the company hopes to begin shipments in the near future.
“We are continuously monitoring the water level development. We expect to restart our barging operations soon,” the spokesperson said.
The flooding is largely occurring in central and southern Germany, with conditions at the Cologne-Dusseldorf chemicals production cluster not directly affected.
Global supply lines have already seen substantial disruption in recent weeks, with uncertainty over ocean freight and container shortages making it increasingly difficult to be sure of availability on vessels.
“Imports are blocked by the uncertainty of the ocean freight. The price may change even a day before you’re loading,” a Europe-based market source said last week.
Thumbnail photo: Flooding in Freinhausen, Germany, on 3 June 2024. Source: Anna Szilagyi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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