The announcement of the anticipated resumption of river traffic on the Moselle for February delights partially unemployed companies but remains fragile and still raises some questions.
On December 8, when the gates of the Müden lock on the Moselle, south of Cologne in Germany, were accidentally torn off by a cargo ship, an entire ecosystem suffers from the scale of the damage.
According to its first estimates, the Office of Waterways and Navigation (WSA) Moselle-Sarre-Lahn announces that navigation on the Moselle risks being impossible for three months, until March 2025. Asked in our columns five days after the accident, the manager of a Luxembourg river charter company speaks of a “catastrophe” given the duration of the interruption.
“An announced blockage of a duration like this is unheard of”, he then exclaims. Finally, the situation changed. At the end of December, the WSA informed that its technicians “are exploiting all possibilities in order to be able to reopen navigation via the Müden lock on 1is February 2025”, a month earlier than planned.
“It’s still good news to go from one quarter to a month and a half, we’re not doing so bad,” rejoices the carrier.
80% of salaries reimbursed
For him and his team, the end of the tunnel is slowly approaching. Since December 8, “we have been doing DIY and dealing with IT problems but in terms of chartering, it’s zero”.
“We tried to charter boats elsewhere, but it’s not easy to land where we are not the rest of the year, especially with 70 extra boats that were not planned,” explains- he said, in reference to the 70 boats blocked on the Moselle from December 8 to 27.
To limit the damage, he turned to the Economic Committee, under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Labor, in order to benefit from the partial unemployment system in the event of force majeure. Like him, two other companies have also taken action because of the lock.
“For the moment, on paper, we have been told in agreement,” he said, the discussions having resulted in 80% of January salaries being covered by the State.
Impatience and questions
Until 1is February and the return to service of the lock, the carrier is chomping at the bit: “We are in the starting blocks, even if we still have a good three weeks to wait before being able to charter.”
Until then, optimism and worry intertwine. “Everything will be decided in the next three weeks and there should not be the slightest delay because I don't know if they have planned the margin but if that is the case, they don't have any a lot.”
In recent days, the restoration work schedule has been threatened by increased flooding caused by recent rainfall, snow and thaw. The 1is January, the WSA specified on its site that “there remained only approximately 80 cm of space underwater up to the upper edge of the inspection hatch. If water flowed into the chamber via the inspection hatch, this would considerably delay the progress of the work.
The stress therefore promises to last for another month, while other questions remain.
In December, the carrier expressed its fears about a transfer of river transport contracts to rail transport, or even the desertion of buyers for other countries. “For cereals, I think that some customers have gone elsewhere, already we had competition from Ukraine and the rest of the world,” he slips.
When reopening, “we will see if there is a feedback effect but I am unable to say today”.
Avoid rising prices
The volume of demand in February is therefore an unknown factor with which the Luxembourger will have to juggle. “Our problem will be to find the right boat, on the right dates and at the right price to transport it.” In the event that traffic on the Moselle struggles to resume, an increase in transport prices could occur according to him.
“Traditionally, at the beginning of the year, we start to lower freight rates. And if the boats come to Moselle at an average price and they leave empty because there is nothing or because it does not pay, the following week, prices will rise.
Nothing to worry him about beyond reason, however. With 20 years of experience in the sector, “we're used to it, it's supply and demand, we always work like that”. Mainly focused on the transport of steel, it mainly relies on local companies to fill the boats and get off to a good start.
