The Rhine and its importance for logistics

In the event of nascent low water levels, BASF logistics employees first mitigate the loading restrictions for inland vessels. In two working groups, representatives from logistics, production plants, supply chain units and operating divisions cooperate closely.

“The most important aspect is to ensure that intensive communication between the affected production plants and the customer takes place early on,” said Dieter Mehrle , Barging Services Europe, who is responsible for inland waterway logistics at the Ludwigshafen site. The other measures include regular forecasts on the short-term development of the river water levels, continuous monitoring of goods flows and constantly checking the options provided by other transport carriers.

“October and November 2018 were pretty tough months for us. However, what the colleagues in the affected units achieved was amazing,” commented Mehrle. The colleagues from rail transport were also heavily involved in mastering this challenge at the Ludwigshafen site: “There weren’t many tank cars available and the ones we had were assigned to the raw materials to be transported according to their priority. The new BASF class tank containers already helped during this period,” said Katharina Günther, team leader of rail tank car steering.

In order to be properly prepared for low levels of water in the Rhine, concepts of how to supply the site more reliably during these times are currently in development according to Mehrle. These concepts range from short-term measures such as booking additional charter ships for specified time frames all the way up to agreements with shipping companies on the provision of special ships which can travel in low water levels. “There will definitely be changes in the future, but the Rhine will remain a vital transport route for us,” said Mehrle.

The low level of the Rhine in 2018 clearly demonstrated just how significant Germany’s most important water transport route is when it comes to supplying the Ludwigshafen site. The logistics units at BASF needed huge commitment from their teams and quick reactions to all the different issues in order to get through this period.

Inland navigation vessels

When the proverbial “six inches of water under the keel” is in danger of becoming five or even less, the BASF site at Ludwigshafen is faced with many special challenges. Inland navigation vessels play a significant role when it comes to supplying the Ludwigshafen site with raw materials. For example, an average of 12 inland vessels dock at the BASF harbors each day, with around three-quarters of this number loaded with raw materials. The inland vessels also link the Ludwigshafen site with the international ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp, together known as ARA. “The Ludwigshafen site uses the level of the Rhine at Kaub as a marker. This part of the river with its rocky bed is the shallowest part of the Rhine which a ship must navigate between the North Sea and the Upper Rhine,” said Dieter Mehrle from Barging Services Europe. If the water level relevant for shipping drops below 160 cm at this point, the Rhine has a low water level. For inland shipping, this means that the load must be reduced. Depending on how low the water level is, the same load capacity may require more ships, which is a challenging situation for both the shipping companies and the BASF loading coordinators. At the time of the lowest water level in November 2018, only ships suitable for very low water levels were capable of reaching the BASF harbors, as Mehrle explained. 

Railway logistics 

When inland vessels are forced to reduce their loads, the first alternative option is rail transport. This is a great challenge for the BASF railway logistics unit, as the free market reacts very quickly to changes due to low water levels – meaning the transport capacities and tank cars are not as readily available. In 2018, BASF also carried out planned and unplanned factory updates, which required additional amounts of raw materials to be transported by rail. From October 2018, the railway logistics team and all the affected parties held daily telephone conferences to discuss which raw materials were to be transported to Ludwigshafen by rail. The challenge in situations like these is to deploy the scarce resources as they are required in order to uphold the value chains at the site. This includes providing enough tank cars, the on-site transportation to the loading stations and external transportation.

“These were intense months, as the low water level lasted for an unexpectedly long time. We had to make significant cuts and tank cars had to be assigned in the Verbund coordination group. Without the motivation and close collaboration of the BASF teams, it would not have been possible to manage these challenges,” said Peter Rösner (FPO/EE) and Gerd Fischer (ESL/RL) proudly. “From the physical and administrative logistics units to freight procurement in close collaboration with the business units, everyone involved achieved great things.” 

Truck - and Intermodal Transport 

When taking a glance at the truck and intermodal transport options, it becomes apparent that all transport carriers are equally important for supplying the site in the case of natural events, such as the low water level.

Even if trucks play a subordinate role when it comes to supplying the site with raw materials – in contrast to their significance in sales logistics – this transport method played an important role in overcoming the issues caused by the low water level in 2018. For instance, from mid-October, the employees from the Transport Management Surface Bulk Europe team (G-FPO/ETE) controlled over 65 rented tank containers, which were used to continuously supply the site via road and combined transport. “Overland transport is highly flexible and can quickly adjust to changing situations,” says team leader Dirk Wagner (G-FPO/ETE). This meant that the internal truck logistics experts were important partners to the supply planners during the period of low water. “Many colleagues recognized that our transport volume of around 8,000 metric tons made a significant contribution to supplying the site, something we are very proud of,” said Wagner.

The Rhine has an impact on life and work at the Ludwigshafen site – and not just when the water level is extremely low.

In the event of flooding too, as was most recently the case in January 2018, there is also a staggered catalog of measures to safeguard production and safety at the site, which was specified by the site’s flood committee. The committee, which is under the leadership of ESE, comprises representatives from the Infrastructure Ludwigshafen and Environment Monitoring units, as well as the site fire department. Depending on the water level and further forecasts, the committee decides which measures are to be taken – for example, if and when the Rheinuferstraße is to be closed.

The shipping logistics experts at BASF remain relaxed in the event of flooding: “Flooding is normally not a problem for inland waterway transportation, as it only affects the Rhine at specific places and temporarily,” said Dieter Mehrle, Barging Services Europe. Even if the Rhine has a high water level, fully loaded ships are still able to travel on the river. “In the worst case, the area affected by the flooding is completely closed for shipping for a few days. The ships must then dock for the specified duration and wait until the flooding has subsided before continuing to the unloading stations,” added Mehrle.

770 meters long, 2.6 meters in diameter, 256 concrete pipes: These are just some of the figures from Düker 3 (culvert no. 3), which runs from the central power plant and under the Rhine before ending at the Friesenheimer Insel. So, what is it like to walk through the culvert yourself? We joined Bernd Nitschke from the Pipe Racks, Product and Utility Piping unit on his inspection underneath the Rhine. 

Once a month, Bernd Nitschke makes his way to K111. The entrance to culvert no. 3 is located directly on the bank of the Rhine. Before the inspection tour begins, all “first timers” have to take part in a safety induction. Nitschke then checks the current oxygen level and the temperature in the culvert tunnel using a monitoring device. The levels are fine and the tour can begin. 

We enter the culvert through the building located above, K111. A metal walkway is attached to the ground and we start with a steep descent. Despite the wintry temperatures above ground, the temperature in the culvert is a warm 30°C. It is a lot less comfortable here during the summer months, explains Nitschke, as despite the insulated piping, the air temperature can reach 40°C. One of the pipes is a 40-bar steam pipe. Since July 2006, this pipe has been used to provide the Friesenheimer Insel site with steam drawn from the central steam network at the Ludwigshafen site. Every hour, between 80 and 90 metric tons of steam flow through the pipe. The employees at the power station ensure that the pressure and the quantity correspond to the requirements at the Friesenheimer Insel site.

And we follow this exact pipe further and further below the Rhine. After around 15 minutes of walking, Nitschke suddenly stops. “Do you all have your passports with you?” he jokingly asks, and goes on to explain that we are currently at the deepest point of the tunnel, located directly below the middle of the Rhine. He points at a sign and adds that we are also about to cross the state border between Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. Above us are approximately 10 meters of sand and gravel, and above that, another 3 to 4 meters of water, depending on the Rhine’s water level.

The culvert has been in operation since 2006. In the summer of 2005, the pipes were pushed piece by piece from Friesenheim Island through sand and gravel under the water surface, all the way to the Ludwigshafen site.

The drill took three months to dig the 770-meter-long concrete tunnel under the Rhine to Ludwigshafen. We are told that every three years, the thickness of the layer of sand and gravel covering the culvert is measured, and if the thickness is insufficient, sand and gravel have to be added again. 

The route gets tougher after we cross the border, as the temperature remains high, and we also begin our ascent. By now, only soil is above us, as only about one-third of the culvert is actually covered by water. The inspection has already been going on for 45 minutes before we reach the end of the long tunnel and with it, the building above it on the Mannheim side of the Rhine. Bernd Nitschke leads us up 40 stairs into building FA315 and out into the daylight. Looking around from here, it is hard to imagine that we were deep beneath the Rhine just a few minutes ago.