News / Europe’s barge operators ditch containers as demand and rates fall

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Barge owners in northern Europe are ditching containers and moving to liquids to transport as the rates crunch plaguing deepsea box shipping begins to affect them.

Inland operators and barge owners told The Loadstar full-box movements at Antwerp and Rotterdam had been low for some time, with empties and repositioning offering the sector its only real demand.

“We have begun to see many barge owners switching from dry, bulk and container services to servicing the liquids market, which is experiencing higher demand, ...