6. CARGO FLEETS

• The fleet of inland cargo vessels in Europe consists of approximately 10,000 vessels registered in Rhine countries, 3,500 vessels registered in Danube countries and more than 1,200 vessels registered in other European countries.
 
• The total loading capacity of the dry cargo Rhine fleet has remained rather constant since 2008 and amounted to 10.6 million tonnes in 2022. The total loading capacity of the liquid cargo Rhine fleet amounted to 3.4 million tonnes in 2022.
 
• Overall, the newbuilding activity in 2022 for the Rhine fleet slowed down compared to the previous year. This can partly be explained by the overall decline in the transport of dry goods in the year preceding 2022, weaker growth in tanker shipping and cost increase in shipbuilding.
 
• The number of innovative vessels in service increased significantly between 2021 and 2022 but still represent less than 0.2% of the entire inland navigation fleet in Europe.

SIZE OF FLEETS PER MACRO-REGION AND COUNTRY IN EUROPE

TABLE 1: SIZE OF FLEETS (NUMBER OF INLAND VESSELS) PER MACRO-REGION AND VESSEL TYPE IN EUROPE

	Dry cargo vessels	Liquid cargo vessels	Push & tugs	Total number of vessels
Rhine fleet	7.283	1.435	1.268	9.987
Danube fleet *	2.652	204	642	3.498
Total number of vessels (Rhine and Danube)	9.935	1.639	1.91	13.484
Other countries **	951		266	1.217
Total number of vessels	12.525		2.176	14.701


Sources: 1) Rhine countries: VNF (France), CBS/Rijkswaterstaat (Netherlands), ITB (Belgium), German Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV), national fleet register of Luxembourg, Swiss Waterway Administration. 2) Danube countries: Danube Commission. 3) Other countries: Eurostat [iww_eq_loadcap], [iww_eq_age], Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, Statistics Poland, Statistics Lithuania. For push and tugs: Eurostat [iww_eq_age].
* Data for 2017
** Other countries = Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Finland, Lithuania

 
• The following figures show the number of dry and liquid cargo vessels taken together (self-propelled vessels and barges) and the number of push and tugboats per country in Europe.

 

FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF DRY AND LIQUID CARGO VESSELS PER COUNTRY IN EUROPE


Sources: Eurostat [iww_eq_loadcap] and national sources for Rhine countries
* Most data are from 2021 or 2022.
 

FIGURE 2: NUMBER OF PUSH BOATS AND TUGBOATS PER COUNTRY IN EUROPE *


Sources: Eurostat [iww_eq_age], ITB (Belgium), National fleet register of Luxembourg
* Most data from 2021 or 2022, Italy figure for 2017

 

EVOLUTION OF THE RHINE FLEET

DRY CARGO FLEET IN RHINE COUNTRIES

• Fleet data used for this part are entirely based on national fleet data from waterway administrations. The reason for this is that a distinction between dry and liquid cargo vessels is only available in national fleet databases and in the IVR database, but not in the Eurostat databases.
• Data used for the Dutch fleet contain the inland vessels that are registered in the Netherlands and which were active in that country in 2022.³⁴ The total number of dry cargo vessels registered in Rhine countries was, according to these sources, 7,283 in 2022 compared to 7,377 in 2021, 7,423 in 2020 and 7,510 in 2019.

 

FIGURE 3: NUMBER OF DRY CARGO VESSELS IN RHINE COUNTRIES IN 2022 *


Source: CCNR based on national data (see Table 1)
* Data for Germany relate to 2021.

 

FIGURES 4 AND 5: DRY CARGO FLEET IN RHINE COUNTRIES *




Source: CCNR based on national data (see Table 1)
* Data for Germany relate to 2021.

 
• The total loading capacity of the dry cargo Rhine fleet has remained rather constant since 2008 and amounted to 10.6 million tonnes in 2022.
• It is often cited that the number of small vessels in the inland navigation sector is decreasing. Long-term data tend to confirm this hypothesis (see 2022 Annual Report, Chapter 6).

 

LIQUID CARGO FLEET IN RHINE COUNTRIES

• The share of the Dutch fleet within all liquid cargo vessels in Rhine countries is 52%. Switzerland and Luxembourg have relatively high numbers of tanker vessels. From a quantitative perspective, the total number of tanker vessels decreased since 2012, as the number of vessels being phased out was higher than the number of new double hull vessels entering the market.

 

FIGURE 6: NUMBER OF LIQUID CARGO VESSELS IN RHINE COUNTRIES IN 2022 *


Source: CCNR based on national data (see Table 1)
* Data for Germany relate to 2021.

 

FIGURES 7 AND 8: LIQUID CARGO FLEET IN RHINE COUNTRIES *




Source: CCNR based on national data (see Table 1)
* Data for Germany relate to 2021.


 

EVOLUTION OF THE DANUBE FLEET

DRY CARGO FLEET IN THE DANUBE REGION

• According to the statistics of the Danube Commission (with clarification based on surveys of shipping companies in the DC Member States), by the end of 2017,³⁵ there were around 400 push boats, 242 tugs, 409 self-propelled dry cargo vessels, and circa 2,100 dry cargo barges in the Danube fleet (the German-flagged fleet is counted by port of registry on the Danube). More than 70% of the total transport volume is carried by pushed convoys, whose composition is set out in the following table, depending on the waterway class and shipping conditions.

 

TABLE 2: TYPE OF DRY CARGO TRANSPORT ON THE DANUBE (SHARE OF TOTAL TRANSPORT IN %)

Push boat + 7-9 pushed barges (lighters)	40-42%
Push boat + 6 lighters	20-23%
Push boat + 4 lighters	12-14%


Source: Danube Commission market observation
 
• The total Danube fleet of dry cargo vessels diminished as from 2005. However, from the year 2014 onwards, this decreasing trend came to a halt, and the fleet size has now stabilised. The Romanian dry cargo fleet is the largest in the Danube area with a share of around 48% of all dry cargo vessels. Its size is increasing.

 

LIQUID CARGO FLEET IN THE DANUBE REGION

• According to the statistics of the Danube Commission (with clarification based on surveys of shipping companies in the DC Member States), by the end of 2017, there were 74 self-propelled tanker vessels and 128 tanker barges, with a total cargo capacity of around 0.22 million tonnes.³⁶

 

NEW VESSEL CONSTRUCTION IN RHINE COUNTRIES³⁷

• Overall, newbuilding activity in 2022 has slowed down compared to the previous year. While the number of new dry cargo vessels remained the same compared to 2021, the number of newly built tanker vessels decreased by 27 units (40 in 2019, 54 in 2020, 58 in 2021 and 31 in 2022).
• The strong decrease in the newly built capacity can be explained by several factors: overall decline in the transport of dry goods in the year preceding 2022, weaker growth in tanker shipping, cost increase in shipbuilding. In addition, for the dry cargo segment a constant decrease has been observed since 2020, which corresponds to the start of the pandemic. With the boom in coal transport and the pressure on dry cargo capacity, a reversal of this tendency might be observed in 2023.
• This will however strongly depend on the evolution of inflation. Indeed, as a result of inflationary tendencies, steel prices and prices for other materials that are needed in shipbuilding have strongly increased. Up to 50% in cost increases for new builds has been reported by the sector.

 

DRY CARGO

• The majority of the new dry cargo vessels entering the market in 2022 are registered in the Netherlands (16 out of 21), followed by Belgium and Germany with two new vessels each.

 

FIGURE 9: NEW DRY CARGO VESSELS COMING ON THE MARKET PER COUNTRY OF REGISTER (NUMBERS, 2011-2022)


Source: IVR
 
• The most common loading capacity within this vessel type is usually 3,000 < 4,000 tonnes. In 2022, most newbuilts were however recorded within the category 2,000 < 3,000 tonnes. The average capacity of newly built dry cargo vessels amounted to 2,499 tonnes in 2022, which is a slight decrease compared to the average of 2,726 tonnes in 2021.

 

TABLE 3: NEWLY BUILT DRY CARGO VESSELS ACCORDING TO LOADING CAPACITY

Loading capacity	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
0 < 1,000 t	5	4	4	17	5	1
1,000 < 2,000 t	6	4	7	7	0	5
2,000 < 3,000 t	7	8	12	8	3	8
3,000 < 4,000 t	16	6	13	14	11	7
> 4,000 t	2	3	6	1	2	0
Total	36	25	42	47	21	21


Source: IVR
Note that in 2022, for five newly built vessels the deadweight was partly estimated due to initially missing values. Estimations were also made in the previous years.
 

TABLE 4: NEWLY BUILT DRY CARGO VESSELS IN 2022 BY LENGTH

Length	Number of vessels
< 55 metres	1
55 to < 70 metres	4
70 to < 86 metres	6
86 to 110 metres	10
> 110 metres	0
Total	21


Sources: IVR, CCNR analysis

 

LIQUID CARGO

• According to the IVR database, 31 new tanker vessels entered the market in 2022, 27 less than in 2021. In the Netherlands 18 new vessels were registered, six were registered in Germany, two in Belgium, three in Luxembourg and two in France.

 

FIGURE 10: NEW TANKER VESSELS COMING ON THE MARKET PER COUNTRY OF REGISTER (NUMBERS, 2011-2022)


Source: IVR
 
• The most common loading capacity of the new tanker vessels is in the category 2,000-3,000 tonnes with 24 new tanker vessels in 2022. The overall average loading capacity reduced from 3,452 tonnes in 2021 to 2,868 tonnes in 2022.

 

TABLE 5: NEWLY BUILT TANKER VESSELS ACCORDING TO LOADING CAPACITY

Loading capacity	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
0 < 1,000 t	1	2	1	0	0	0
1,000 < 2,000 t	14	13	16	10	14	4
2,000 < 3,000 t	14	12	16	23	19	24
3,000 < 4,000 t	2	4	3	9	13	1
> 4,000 t	5	3	10	14	12	2
Total	36	34	46	54	58	31


Sources: IVR, CCNR analysis
Note that in 2022 for four newly built vessels, the deadweight was partly estimated due to an initially missing value. Estimations were also made in the previous years.

 

TABLE 6: NEWLY BUILT TANKER VESSELS IN 2022 BY LENGTH

Length	Number of vessels
< 55 metres	0
55 to < 70 metres	0
70 to < 86 metres	4
86 to 110 metres	23
> 110 metres	4
Total	31


Sources: IVR, CCNR analysis
 
• In the category of push boats and tugs, four new builds came on the market (compared to seven in 2021) of which three are registered in the Netherlands and one is registered in Germany.
• Figure 11 illustrates the new loading capacity entering the market by year and for dry and liquid cargo vessels. After a long decline following the financial crisis, new dry and liquid capacity showed an increase in recent years. For liquid cargo vessels, this was more significant than for dry cargo vessels. The year 2021 was marked by a moderation in newbuilding activity due to the deterioration of transport demand conditions caused by the pandemic. This moderation was further accentuated in 2022, particularly for liquid cargo capacity, most probably as a result of the economic and geopolitical uncertainties which were already high in 2021 and remained high in 2022.

 

FIGURE 11: NEW CAPACITY COMING ON THE MARKET FOR DRY AND LIQUID CARGO (LOADING CAPACITY IN 1,000 TONNES)


Source: IVR

 

AGE STRUCTURE OF THE RHINE CARGO FLEET

• According to the vessel database of the IVR,³⁸ around 85.3% of the dry cargo fleet was constructed in the 20th century whereas the respective share for the tanker fleet amounts to 48.0%. According to the IVR database, the Netherlands holds the largest vessel numbers within the Rhine fleet in almost every vessel category, followed by Germany.

 

FIGURE 12: COMMISSIONING YEARS FOR THE RHINE FLEET OVER TIME (NUMBER OF INLAND VESSELS)


Sources: IVR, CCNR analysis
Note that 121 dry cargo vessels and 15 push and tug vessels have an unknown year of construction.
Furthermore, 235 additional tanker vessels, 1,750 dry cargo vessels and 500 push and tug vessels are recorded in the IVR database as being registered in countries other than Rhine countries.

 

CAPACITY MONITORING

DRY CARGO VESSELS

• The armed conflict in Ukraine led to violent disruptions of supply chains in the dry cargo segment. As a result of the blockade of deep-sea ports in Ukraine, there was a great need for capacity in the Danube basin, in particular to export grain from Ukraine to ports in Romania (Galaţi and Constanta). As indicated in previous chapters, a large number of dry cargo vessels were then sold from the Rhine basin to the Danube Basin.
• As explained in previous chapters, the tensions in the gas market associated with the war in Ukraine led to an increase in demand for coal transport on inland waterways. Many vessels were therefore used to transport coal which would have instead been used to transport other goods, including containers for instance.
  Last but not least, the effects of the low water period in July and August 2022 came as an additional strain on dry cargo vessel capacity, to the extent that some cargo could no longer be transported.
• Overall, the dry cargo capacity in 2022 was too low compared to the demand for dry cargo capacity. As a result, capacity utilisation was at its highest level since many years, exceeding values from 2018, for all vessel size categories. The average utilisation rate was 90% in 2022, showing signs that the fleet capacity is tight to cope with low water periods. This is significantly higher than in 2021 (81%) and comparable to the low-water year of 2018 (88%). The highest increase took place for the large vessels (> 2,000 tonnes), from 77% in 2021 to 89% in 2022.
• At the same time, the macroeconomic outlook remains highly uncertain. Similarly, it is uncertain whether the drivers that led to the increase in demand for dry cargo vessel capacity in 2022 are only temporary or will remain in future years. For instance, under the pressure of climate change, demand for coal transport is expected to decline again, in line with the decreasing trends observed in previous years. Similarly, it remains unclear whether the Rhine basin dry cargo capacity which was transferred to the Danube basin will come back to the Rhine basin or not depending on the evolution of the armed conflict in Ukraine.

 

FIGURE 13: CAPACITY UTILISATION FOR THE DRY CARGO FLEET IN RHINE COUNTRIES (PER VESSEL SIZE CLASSES) *


Source: Panteia analysis based on data provided by CCNR.
* The methodology according to which water levels affect capacity utilisation was modified compared to previous years. This leads to a divergence in the absolute values reported in this year’s report compared to previous years without affecting the trend analysis. German fleet data are accurate for 2021 and estimated for 2022. A correction for the German fleet data is always applied for the year N-1.

 

LIQUID CARGO VESSELS

• For tanker shipping, the average utilisation of the fleet in 2022 also increased sharply compared to the previous year. The average utilisation rate was 81% in 2022 compared to 65% in 2021, a similar level as in 2018 (82%).
• This increase was driven mainly by the effect of low waters and not necessarily by the macroeconomic conditions. Indeed, the tanker market is more sensitive to low water periods than the dry cargo market due to the higher deadweight of tanker vessels. To give an example, where a standard dry cargo vessel can still use about 20 to 25% of its cargo capacity at a water level of 40 centimetres in Kaub, a standard tanker can only use 5 to 10% of its capacities.³⁹
• In the liquid segment, capacity was almost fully used for small (< 1,000 tonnes) and medium-sized (1,000 to 2,000 tonnes) vessels, reaching respectively 96% and 99%. In almost all cases, these are highly specialised tankers that are active in the transport of specific products, for example, cement or edible oils. In other cases, they are specifically built for a single client and are therefore used in an optimal way. In this market, capacity is under pressure and a disruption such as prolonged low water levels are expected to cause production losses or modal shift.
• For large-size (more than 2,000 tonnes) tanker vessels, capacity utilisation reached 77%.
• It is worth highlighting that, despite the substantial navigation restrictions in summer 2022, transport was still able to continue, and security of supply was not compromised. This statement is true for both the dry, container and the liquid cargo segments.

 

FIGURE 14: CAPACITY UTILISATION FOR THE LIQUID CARGO FLEET IN RHINE COUNTRIES (PER VESSEL SIZE CLASSES) *


Source: Panteia analysis based on data provided by CCNR
* Same as Figure 13

 

INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INLAND NAVIGATION FLEET CONTRIBUTING TO REDUCING EMISSIONS

• In accordance with the mandate given by the Mannheim Ministerial Declaration of 17 October 2018, the CCNR adopted in December 2021 a roadmap for reducing emissions from inland navigation,⁴⁰ which called for the creation of a database on innovative vessels.
• To develop such a database, available data on innovative inland navigation vessels was compiled within the framework of the Inspection Regulation Committee of the CCNR, with the following scope:
  – innovative vessel understood as designed to emit less air pollutants or greenhouse gases than a conventional diesel vessel;
  – freight and passenger vessels with a Rhine Vessel Inspection Certificate or a Union certificate;⁴¹
  – vessels planned, under construction, in service or projects cancelled.
• Even if biofuels contribute to reducing – under certain conditions – greenhouse gas emissions, vessels running on biofuels were not taken into account in the analysis, as switching to biofuels does not call for a specific design or technical adaptation at the level of the vessel.
• For the purpose of this analysis, 49 freight vessels, of which nine were eventually cancelled or put out of service, and 13 day-trip passenger vessels, were considered.⁴² The vast majority of the innovative vessels sail with a Rhine Vessel Inspection Certificate. They are mainly new built vessels, but also retrofitted vessels.
• While the number of innovative vessels in service represent less than 0.2% of the entire inland navigation fleet in Europe, their number increased significantly between 2021 and 2022. This trend is expected to continue given the 12 innovative vessels expected to become operational in the coming years. Several projects were foreseen to be built in 2022 and 2023 but suffered some delays. This trend does not prejudge the evolution of the number of innovative vessels outside the scope of this database.
• These innovative vessels run or are expected to run on – as the primary energy carrier⁴³ – batteries, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol, compressed hydrogen (GH2) mainly in combination with batteries, or sodium borohydride with batteries (NaBH4).

 

FIGURES 15 AND 16: NUMBER OF VESSELS CONSIDERED IN THE DATABASE PER STATUS AND PER PRIMARY ENERGY CARRIER




 
• Regarding Figure 15, the reasons behind the cancellation of a project could be of a different nature, economic (not enough demand, lack of subsidies), organisational (withdrawal of a partner) or even technical (safety or operational issues). Most of the projects cancelled were LNG propelled vessels. Indeed, fossil LNG is no longer considered as a long-term option, notably for reducing carbon emissions in inland navigation.
• Figure 16 above reflects the technologies used (possibly combined) as the primary energy carrier for vessel propulsion. It often comes with other energy carriers onboard, notably diesel engines for redundancy purposes or as an emergency power source. In other words, it is anticipated that different (modular) options for zero-emissions powertrains, using mixes of energy sources/fuels, will play a role in achieving the ambitious emission reduction objectives set at international level. This is confirmed by the profile of the innovative vessels (in service, under construction or project) which almost all use multiple energy carriers.
• Moreover, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for achieving the energy transition. The choice of an appropriate emissions reduction technology depends on several factors, that include the sailing profile of the vessels, their type, the market segment in which they operate, but also the related technical constraints.
• This is reflected in the following figure, showing how innovative applications find their way into the inland navigation sector.

 

FIGURE 17: DISTRIBUTION OF INNOVATIONS PER VESSEL TYPE AND PRIMARY ENERGY CARRIER⁴⁴


 
• Most of these innovative vessels still operate with a combustion engine (32), of which 27 are also equipped with an electric motor. This is a positive evolution which should facilitate a modular system approach. Indeed, the integration of batteries or fuel cell systems in existing vessels require a vessel to be equipped with an electric motor in the first place. Sixteen vessels operate with battery electric propulsion systems and six with fuel cell systems. It should be highlighted that one vessel is designed to use swappable batteries containers. The number of vessels with similar design might grow in the coming years.