Parched Rhine forces ships to lighten loads and shift cargo ashore

Sailings on northern sections of the river continue often only 20 per cent full or less with high prices demanded, traders said. Loads must be spread among several vessels sailing part-loaded, increasing costs.

More freight is being transferred to land transport, container logistics and river shipping group Contargo said.

"Additional rail services are being operated, extra trucking capacity is being deployed, and terminals on the Lower Rhine are increasingly being used as logistics hubs," Contargo said.

"We are fighting for every container and doing everything possible to keep our customers' supply chains moving. When one mode of transport reaches its limits, we shift capacity to other modes and combine inland shipping, rail and road transport."

It added: "Our captains decide from day to day whether, and on which sections of the Rhine, it is still possible and practical to operate their vessels."

The Rhine is an important route for shipping commodities including grains, minerals, ores, coal and petrol.

(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg Editing by Philippa Fletcher)