Space is becoming increasingly tight on the Rhine. The Kaub gauge, one of the critical bottlenecks between the North Sea ports and Basel, fell to just 11 cm on August 13. Forecasts continue to show extremely low levels. In practice, this means: Ships are still afloat, but can barely take on cargo. A container barge with a normal capacity of around 300 TEU can now load only about 60 TEU in some cases. That is just 20 percent. Larger barges with around 400 TEU cannot pass through the critical section at all in some cases, according to market reports. This means the normal calculation for inland shipping no longer works. Crew, vessel, fuel, and voyage costs remain practically the same – regardless of whether 300 or 60 containers are on board. Costs must therefore be distributed across much less cargo. The result is massive low-water surcharges. MSC is now demanding €1,350 per TEU for the Kaub section according to The Loadstar. Hapag-Lloyd charges €1,075 for a 20-foot container and €1,280 for a 40-foot container at Kaub below 40 cm. Maersk has also introduced a steeply rising surcharge schedule. Kaub is particularly important for Switzerland. The fact that the Basel-Rheinhalle gauge is currently significantly higher offers little help to a container from Rotterdam or Antwerp: it must still pass through the Middle Rhine and thus through Kaub on its way to Basel. An official complete closure of the Rhine cannot be spoken of at this time. However, commercial shipping at Kaub is practically approaching its limits. The German Inland Shipping Association warns that if water levels continue to fall or reach single digits, economical cargo transport there will hardly be possible. And that is precisely when the next problem begins: Containers do not disappear. They switch to rail and truck. Free capacity there is also limited. This threatens backlogs, missing slots, and even higher prices. Reuters already reports of companies shifting transport to road and rail and facing increasing capacity problems.