A report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has outlined the current state of play when it comes to inland waterway transport. The authors of the report conclude that while there is real opportunity to reduce emissions via inland shipping, challenges such as variations in river levels remain an issue.
Overview of inland waterway transport in Europe (IWT)
The ICCT paper begins by describing Inland waterway transport as a widely recognised, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient alternative to road and rail freight. The report states that IWT emits substantially lower greenhouse gases (33 gCO2 per tonne-km), making it a pivotal component in Europe’s strategy to reduce overall emissions.
Compared to road transport, IWT uses only 17% of the energy and 50% that of rail, while remaining the cheapest option per tonne-km for both short and long distances.
When it comes to scale, the report says Europe’s inland waterways span approximately 41,000 kilometres and link 25 EU member states.
The research paper also highlights that major industrial centres across Europe are accessible via inland waterways, which exemplifies the transport mode’s integration with the continent’s broader logistics infrastructure.
In terms of key routes, the report stresses the Rhine and Danube rivers dominate this network, with the Rhine carrying around 40% of the total inland waterway freight, primarily between Basel and the North Sea. The Danube accounts for an additional 18% of the freight activity, with both rivers together representing almost half of the total IWT activity.
Freight activity and market share
Despite its environmental advantages, the report explains that IWT only contributes to around 2% to the total freight transport within the EU, a figure that has remained relatively constant over the years.
In addition to this, the ICCT report concludes that this stagnation is partly due to competition from road and maritime transport, as well as the inherent challenges of IWT, such as dependency on weather conditions and fluctuating water levels, which have a significant impact on transport reliability.
Moreover, the ICCT notes a decline in IWT activity in recent years, with a sharp 9.8% drop in 2022. This decrease was said to be driven by factors such as low water levels on the Rhine and Danube, which disrupted the movement of essential goods, including oil and coal.
“Measured in tonnes, the amount of cargo transported by inland waterway in Europe (including the EU, Switzerland, Serbia, and Moldova) decreased by 5.5% in 2022, while the amount transported on the Rhine (from Basel to the North Sea) declined by approximately 6.8%. According to the 2023 Annual Market Observation Report by the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), several factors led to the depression of IWT activity in 2022, including low water levels in July and August that left parts of the Rhine and Danube impassable by ship, disrupting the transportation of goods and commodities like oil and coal,” says the report.
Major ports and their role in IWT
The report also highlights the importance of four key ports—Rotterdam, Antwerp, Constanta, and Hamburg—which serve as critical nodes in the IWT system.
In 2022, the Port of Rotterdam handled over 151 million tonnes of cargo, with nearly half of it transported via inland waterways.
Antwerp follows closely, with a similar integration of IWT into its operations, indicating how these ports are vital for both regional and international trade.
Types of goods transported
Another section of the report offers insights into the types of goods typically transported via inland shipping. The ICCT states that IWT is predominantly used for bulk goods, accounting for 73% of activity. The top commodities include metal ores (23%), petroleum products (15%), and agricultural products (12%).
It is said that the slow nature of inland shipping makes it ideal for transporting goods that are less time-sensitive, which is part of the reason for the above.
However, referring to Eurostat data from 2021, the report also makes the case for Germany being a pioneer when it comes to using inland shipping to transport high-value goods:
“Among identified freight, Germany had high rates of intermodal freight performed by IWT for non-market goods (100% intermodal rate), furniture and other manufactured goods (98%), textiles and leather (97%), transport equipment (62%), machinery and equipment (58%), and woods products (30%). Rates of intermodal transport performed by inland waterway are also high, at 58%, for high-value products like computers, televisions, and electrical machinery, which indicates Germany is a pioneer in the use of intermodal transport for high-value products,” states the report.
Policy landscape and future goals
Looking forward, the report explains how IWT can play a role in The European Commission’s ambitious targets under the European Green Deal.
“The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, set out a new growth strategy for Europe. Besides the overall target of a 90% reduction of CO2 emissions in the transportation sector by 2050, it also includes a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy for the transport and mobility sector, presented in 2020. The Green Deal also sets out a target of shifting a “substantial” portion of inland freight from road to inland waterway and rail, and expects a “fully operational, multimodal Trans-European Network” for sustainable and smart transport with high-speed connectivity by 2050, with transport by inland waterways and short sea shipping increasing by 25% by 2030 and 50% by 2050,” reads the report.
The EU’s goals include reducing CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. IWT plays a crucial role in this strategy, says ICCT, with plans to increase its share of freight transport by 25% by 2030 and 50% by 2050.
ICCT’s report says that the NAIADES Action Programme, now in its third phase, aligns with these goals by focusing on improving infrastructure, transitioning to zero-emission barges, and better integrating IWT into multimodal logistics chains.
The report also emphasises the importance of governance structures and collaboration among key stakeholders, such as the European Barge Union and the European Skipper’s Organization, to drive the sector’s growth.
Challenges and opportunities
Finally, the report concludes that while IWT offers significant environmental and cost advantages, it still faces considerable challenges according to ICCT’s report. For example, fluctuating water levels, competition from other transport modes, and infrastructure limitations have hampered its growth.
However, the authors of the report believe that ongoing investments in digitalization, automation, and resilient infrastructure could unlock new opportunities for the sector, especially in intermodal transport, where containers can be seamlessly shifted between transport modes.