Some sections of the Rhine are closed, and it is said that BASF's raw material transportation is blocked

The German Federal Water Transport Administration WSV issued an announcement that due to continuous heavy rains in southwestern Germany last week, the 76-kilometer section of the Rhine, the main route for transportation of chemicals, has been blocked and barges are not allowed to pass.

ICIS, a chemical and energy market consulting company, cited multiple sources as saying that the large petrochemical facility of BASF, a large chemical company, in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine is currently experiencing transportation problems. Blocked.

Local time this Monday, multiple sources said that BASF's styrene product chain has encountered an "unplanned incident", but the news still needs to be confirmed. BASF has not yet responded to a request for comment at the time of press.

While the areas that were initially hit hard by the flood were busy dealing with huge social and economic losses, the high water level of the Rhine has shifted to the more industrialized areas of western Germany and the German-Dutch border.

A WSV spokesperson said: "Currently, the closed section of the Rhine is only between Ifezheim and Mannheim-Rheinau. The Rhine is an important transportation route for chemicals, petrochemicals and petroleum products in northwestern Europe.

After the river is closed, the transportation of petrochemicals must be transferred to roads or railways with smaller volumes, thereby pushing up transportation costs.

Late last Friday, a source at a large chemical transportation company said that the company’s operations were not affected for the time being, but the company is always ready for what is inevitable: when the floods flow downstream, multiple river sections will be affected. shut down.

"BASF and other companies have been affected, but the barge loading in our factory is still normal. Of course, the situation is changing rapidly. Within a few hours, other sections of the Rhine may be closed, preventing the barge from setting off to Germany."

Another source in the methanol market said that although the flow of water from the Rhine into the Netherlands is slowing as the heavy rains stop over the weekend, all companies that use the Rhine as a transportation channel will be affected to a certain extent.