Rotterdam and Antwerp D&D Risk Rises as Rhine Water Levels Fall

The Kaub gauge on the Middle Rhine read 14cm at 05:00 on 23 September, according to Contargo’s daily readings from the German waterways information system ELWIS. That is 8cm above the 6cm low recorded on 17 August, and it follows a late-August rebound that briefly improved conditions before water levels fell again.

For importers with containers discharging at Rotterdam or Antwerp and a final destination up the Rhine, the exposure has changed shape. Barge voyages through Switzerland and southern Germany have virtually stopped, while rail and road fallback capacity can take weeks to secure. Depending on the carrier and terminal terms, import free time may begin from discharge, so a routing decision made only after the vessel berths can already be late.

The Late-August Rebound Never Cleared the Critical Threshold

Kaub recovered to 75cm on 25 August and was still at 70cm on 1 September. It never reached 80cm, the level at or below which Contargo’s standard low-water conditions no longer include a transport obligation at Kaub. Contargo’s current adjusted low-water surcharge schedule publishes bands even below that level, so the threshold does not mean that pricing simply switches to individual agreement. Every daily Kaub reading since 22 July has been at or below 80cm.

From 1 September the gauge fell steeply, held in the mid-to-high 20s through the middle of the month, then dropped to 14cm on 22 September and remained there on 23 September. The other three gauges Contargo uses for its Rhine container services were also below the corresponding thresholds for its standard transport obligation.

Gauge	23 Sep 2026	No standard Contargo transport obligation at or below	23 Sep 2025
Kaub	14cm	80cm	152cm
Cologne	56cm	105cm	208cm
Duisburg-Ruhrort	139cm	180cm	291cm
Emmerich	-6cm	30cm	128cm

Contargo’s published 05:00 CET readings from ELWIS. Gauge readings are measured against a fixed reference datum rather than the riverbed, so a negative figure at Emmerich is a valid reading. Contargo has also published an adjusted low-water surcharge schedule covering readings below these thresholds.

Carrier and operator surcharge rules differ by gauge and can change as low-water conditions worsen. At these readings, the more pressing question is which inland mode will take the container at all, and how far ahead it has to be booked.

Fallback Capacity Can Take Weeks to Secure

When barge drops out, the standard substitutes are rail and truck. FreightWaves reported on 22 September that finding a truck can take up to two weeks and booking an intermodal rail move up to six weeks. Adding train capacity is not a quick fix either, because the North Sea ports lack the infrastructure to handle more train sets.

Option	Current constraint
Barge, Middle and Upper Rhine	Voyages through Switzerland and southern Germany have virtually stopped. Contargo warns it may suspend regular services to the Upper Rhine, Middle Rhine and Rhine-Main regions.
Intermodal rail	Booking can take up to six weeks. The North Sea ports lack the infrastructure to add train sets.
Truck	Securing a truck can take up to two weeks, and drivers are difficult to find.
Carrier haulage	Hapag-Lloyd said in late July that carrier-haulage bookings to affected Rhine locations it cannot confirm will be cancelled, with merchant haulage still available.

Sources: FreightWaves, 22 September 2026; Contargo low water notice; Hapag-Lloyd hinterland advisory, July 2026.

Set those lead times against the free time in your import contract. If the inland booking takes longer to secure than the available free period at the discharge terminal, the booking may need to be placed while the vessel is still at sea. Waiting until discharge can leave the container’s free-time clock running while the inland move is still waiting for capacity.

That turns the vessel’s current ETA into the planning date for the inland leg, in place of the arrival date printed on the booking confirmation. FreightWaves also reports backlogs at both ocean and inland terminals that lack room to process containers quickly, which is where the waiting time can turn into charges.

If your team is working out which inbound containers need an inland booking before their vessel arrives, and checking each carrier’s portal for the latest ETA to do it, see how ops teams manage arrival and last free day across carriers.

Who Pays While the Container Waits

Contargo has told customers it may route containers through transshipment and transport hubs to keep them moving, and that it will not accept storage, Demurrage & Detention (D&D) or other charges arising from that routing. It also disclaims liability for delays and extra costs caused by the low water or by the operational measures it takes in response.

FreightWaves notes that when low water, congestion or missing documents delay the handover between ocean and inland transport, cargo owners can end up bearing the resulting waiting costs. Hapag-Lloyd similarly says that applicable port or inland demurrage and related charges resulting from low-water delays will be billed to the customer.

The haulage basis matters too. Where a carrier-haulage booking is cancelled and the move reverts to merchant haulage, responsibility for arranging the inland leg passes to the importer or its forwarder. Storage, demurrage, detention and other costs still depend on the applicable carrier, terminal and contractual terms rather than on the haulage switch alone.

Diverting Away From Rotterdam and Antwerp

Some importers are looking at Hamburg, Bremerhaven or Wilhelmshaven as alternatives to Rotterdam and Antwerp, according to FreightWaves. Others are looking south to Koper, Trieste, Genoa or Barcelona. Each option swaps Rhine exposure for a different set of inland capacity and labor constraints.

German North Sea ports. All three sit inside the current ver.di dispute. Voting on indefinite strikes at Germany’s six seaports runs until 1 October, after a 24-hour warning strike in August and a 48-hour stoppage in early September. A diversion booked now therefore carries an unresolved labor risk until the ballot result is known. The Elbe is also at historically low levels, so barge legs out of Hamburg carry a version of the Rhine problem. How the vote works, and what it takes to trigger an indefinite strike, is covered in our breakdown of the German port strike ballot.

Adriatic and Mediterranean ports. These avoid both the Rhine and the German dispute. The inland leg into Germany or Switzerland then runs by rail or road from the south, and that capacity needs its own check before the diversion is worth making.

The switch itself. A different discharge port brings its own terminal and free-time terms, and can require revised customs and delivery arrangements. Once a container is loaded, a change of destination becomes a request to the carrier, typically subject to approval and a fee, so the decision is easiest to make before the vessel leaves its last origin or transshipment port.

What to Check Before Your Next Rotterdam or Antwerp Arrival

List every inbound container discharging at Rotterdam or Antwerp in the next six weeks with a final destination on the Middle or Upper Rhine, in the Rhine-Main region or in Switzerland.
For each container, compare the vessel’s current ETA with the earliest date a rail or truck booking could realistically move it, allowing up to six weeks for rail.
Confirm whether the inland leg is carrier or merchant haulage, and whether any carrier-haulage booking is still confirmed.
Get free time and storage terms in writing for the discharge terminal and for any intermediate hub the inland operator may route through.
Check the Kaub forecast against the planned barge departure date. Contargo prices its low water surcharge on the gauge reading for the barge’s departure day, whatever the booking date.
Before diverting to Hamburg, Bremerhaven or Wilhelmshaven, check the status of the ver.di ballot and any resulting strike notices.
On exports, check empty availability and cut-offs at the inland origin. Slower inland legs raise the risk of missing the planned vessel connection.

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