A ban on single-hull barges carrying oil products on Europe’s inland waterways came into force at the end of 2018 — a year that saw double-hull barges unable to navigate the shallow Upper Rhine for prolonged periods due to a severe drought, causing acute supply shortages of oil products in southwest Germany and Switzerland. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now The impact of the phase-out, which started back in 2009, is likely to be limited in the short-term given the relatively small number of single-hull barges that were still operating in the market last year, according to barge operators. One source who operates on the Upper Rhine said that “the enforcement of the ban on single hulls won’t have an [immediate] impact [on freight rates] as the market prepared for this, we only had two left and one is being scrapped […]