Rotterdam ULSD barge prices lower on Rhine shipping halts: trade

Premiums for ultra low sulfur diesel barges in Rotterdam fell Monday, responding to shipping halts on the River Rhine, according to traders.
Barge logistics in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area are normal but barges cannot circulate in some areas of France, Germany and Switzerland due to high water levels, cutting off ARA from major centers of consumption.
The ARA hub is Europe's main output center for refined products and a lot of that supply then heads to Central Europe via the Rhine, the Danube and other river tributaries such as the Mosel.
The Rotterdam ULSD barge swap was last heard Monday trading around $17.50/mt, down $1/mt from Friday's assessment.
Traders said the price impact was limited so far but could accelerate if the Rhine remained closed for a longer period of time.
"Prices have come off, but not in a significant way. There haven't been large price swings," said one trader.
"We have an overcapacity of barges at the moment so a couple of days delays shouldn't cause too many issues," said a barge operator.
Rhine water levels rose to 7.18 meters at eight key crossings Monday, higher than last December's figure, data from German Federal Waterways showed. Traders said a combination of heavy rain in Central Europe and snow melt in the Alps was to blame.
By Sunday evening, Rhine flooding extended from Basel, Switzerland, near the Swiss-German border in the south to most points over a 354 km (232 mile) stretch of the river northwards beyond Mainz, Germany.
The flood will extend to areas around Kaub, Koblenz -- where the Mosel tributary enters the Rhine -- Cologne and Dusseldorf later Monday, according to German Federal Waterways.
The head of the Rhine area around ARA could be affected in the next few days, traders said.
Shipping is halted in all the areas affected by flooding as clean product barges cannot go under bridges and could damage river banks.
"There is no sailing to Basel at the moment or other locations along the Rhine that are naturally deeper such as Kaub, Mannheim and Koblenz," confirmed a second barge operator.
A continuation of heavier precipitation in central, eastern and southern Germany is seen over the next few days, with many streams, communities and fields already experiencing extreme flooding.
Source: Platts