Rhine water levels near 36-year low as barge freight costs triple

Port News & Information Mediterranean, Black & Caspian Seas Duisburg, Germany (Ports Europe) July 29, 2026 – Water levels on the Rhine are nearing their lowest point in 36 years. A summer heatwave and scarce rainfall continue to disrupt barge shipping on one of Europe’s key inland waterways. The navigable depth at the Kaub gauge, the Rhine’s shallowest chokepoint, fell to 28 centimetres this… Subscribe or log in to continue reading PortSEurope offers an English-language daily coverage from over 200 ports in the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas as well as a fully indexed and easily searchable database with more than 15,000 articles. Subscribe