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☆ Major shipping routes are struggling with water shortages. El Niño could make it worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A ship navigates the Panama Canal in the area of the Americas' Bridge in Panama City on June 12, 2023. Luis Acosta | Afp | Getty ImagesAn increasing number of climate-driven extreme weather events is taking its toll on the world's major shipping routes — and El Niño could make matters worse. In drought-stricken Panama, low water levels have prompted the Central American country to reduce the number of vessels that pass through the critically important Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Authority, which manages the waterway, said earlier this month that the measures were necessary because of "unprecedented challenges." "Right now, we do not see that filling up of the water levels that a normal year would bring around.

Persons: Luis Acosta, El Niño, El, Peter Sands, Sands, Lars Ostergaard Nielsen, Moller, Balint Porneczi, Nielsen Organizations: Afp, Getty, Central, Atlantic, Panama Canal Authority, CNBC, Analysts, Planet Labs PBC, El, Maersk, Bloomberg, Palatinate . Locations: Panama, Panama City, Central American, Suez, Europe, Asia, Pacific, Germany, Rotterdam, Bacharach, Rhineland, Palatinate, Frankfurt

☆ Drought threatens major European river trade route with ripples across the continent
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Barges of coal at the inland harbor in Duisburg, on the river Rhine in Germany, on Thursday, July 20 2023. The river Rhine, an important trade route that runs through Germany via European cities to the port of Rotterdam, has become shallower at critical points. As water levels go down, a vessel's capacity reduces and shipping costs rise, with prices increasing as rivers become shallower. Water levels at Kaub are closely followed, and if they fall too low, vessels have to sail with reduced loads. Ben Kilb | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFalling water levels can "significantly impair" manufacturing output, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IFW).

Persons: Ben Kilb, Lloyd, Tim Beckhoff, we've, Marc Schattenberg, Schattenberg, Beckhoff, Goarshausen Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Maersk, Hapag, McKinsey, CNBC, Deutsche Bank ., Deutsche Bank, Kiel Institute Locations: Duisburg, Germany, Europe, Rotterdam, Kaub, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, St

☆ Rhine river levels in Germany back to normal after rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephane Nitschke/File PhotoHAMBURG, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Heavy rain has raised water on the river Rhine in Germany to levels allowing cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, data from German inland waterways agency WSA said on Wednesday. Commodity traders said full loads could now be taken on by ships along the entire river in Germany. German industry is finding new ways to transport cargoes from coal to chemicals as increasingly frequent low water levels on the Rhine disrupt Europe's largest economy, major cargo shippers told Reuters. The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, coal and oil products, including heating oil. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in the summer of 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: Stephane Nitschke, Pegelonline, Kaub, Michael Hogan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, WSA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ludwigshafen, Germany, Cologne

FRANKFURT/LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - German industry is finding new ways to transport cargoes from coal to chemicals as increasingly frequent low water levels on the Rhine disrupt Europe's largest economy. At Kaub , the critical chokepoint for Rhine barges, water levels fell to their lowest this year earlier this week. ARTERY OF THE ECONOMYThe impact of low water levels is not limited to big business. But logistics firms are benefiting from rising demand for vessels adapted to lower river levels. "We expect, due to climate change, that the extremes on the river Rhine will happen more often," said Maickel Uijtewaal, general manager at Stolt-Nielsen (SNI.OL).

Persons: Uwe Arndt, Barbara Hoyer, majeure, Roberto Spranzi, Maickel Uijtewaal, Steffen Bauer, Christoph Steitz, Vera Eckert, Ludwig Burger, Patricia Weiss, Rene Wagner, Nette, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Matthias Inverardi, Vincent Flasseur, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Federal Waterways, Shipping Agency, Reuters Graphics, Cologne, BASF, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Kiel Institute, Deutsche Bank, Reuters, Stolt, Nielsen, HGK Shipping, Daniels, Midland Co, Chemicals, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, LONDON, Kaub, Europe, Reuters Graphics Germany, Ludwigshafen, HGK, Frankfurt, Berlin, Duesseldorf, London

☆ Rain raises Rhine river levels in Germany; north still too shallow
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAMBURG, July 26 (Reuters) - Heavy rain has raised water levels on the Rhine in Germany, but the river is still too shallow in central northern areas for cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Wednesday. As increasingly frequent low water on the Rhine disrupts Europe's largest economy, its industry is finding new ways to ship cargoes, including the use of low-water barges. "So far this summer we have had enough rain to prevent a crisis on the river," one commodity trader said. "Low water has increased costs but cargo has been delivered." German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: Michael Hogan, John Stonestreet Organizations: Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Germany, Koblenz, Cologne, Duisburg

☆ Low water again hampers Rhine river shipping in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAMBURG, June 28 (Reuters) - Low water levels after recent dry weather are again preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight prices, commodity traders said on Wednesday. Low water is hampering shipping on most of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said. Dry weather in early June meant the river became too shallow, hindering shipping before rain raised water levels. But rain forecast in river catchment areas in Germany from Thursday into the weekend could help raise water levels, traders said. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heatwave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: surcharges, Michael Hogan, Jason Neely Organizations: Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Germany, Duisburg, Cologne

☆ Turkish woman dies a day after her rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Rescuers carry a woman named Zeynep, as the search for survivors continues, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kirikhan, Turkey February 10, 2023. German rescuers pulled 40-year-old Zeynep Kahraman out of the rubble in the town of Kirikhan in southern Turkey on Friday. "We have just informed the team that she has unfortunately passed away and are now processing this in the team." The German workers made contact with the woman while she was still deep inside the rubble and kept her hydrated through a hose. The combined death toll from Monday's quake in southern Turkey and northern Syria now exceeded 24,000.

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