Inland shipping: everything about inland vessels and transport by water

Inland shipping, or inland waterway transport, is the transport of goods and people on inland waters: rivers, canals and lakes. That sets it apart from maritime shipping on seas and oceans. Inland vessels are built for these waters: they are long and narrow, have a shallow draught and fit into locks and under bridges.

Most inland shipping is freight transport. There are also passenger vessels, such as river cruise ships and ferries. In this guide we focus on freight, because that matters most to shippers and logistics chains.

Inland vessels are usually classified according to the European CEMT classification, which indicates which vessels a waterway can accommodate. Each class has a typical vessel type with its own name, length and carrying capacity.

Vessels also differ in what they carry. Dry cargo vessels carry bulk such as sand, gravel, ores and grain. Tankers carry liquids and gases, such as fuels and chemicals. Container vessels stack containers two to four layers high. Push barges have no engine of their own and are moved by a pusher, often in convoys of several barges. A coupled convoy is a motor vessel pushing a barge ahead of it.

Inland shipping is strong in anything heavy, bulky and not urgent. The main cargo groups are:

• Building materials: sand, gravel, cement and aggregates, often for projects in and around cities.
• Energy and fuels: diesel, petrol, kerosene, LNG and other gases.
• Chemicals: liquid and gaseous raw materials for the chemical industry. Dangerous goods are subject to the ADN rules.
• Agricultural products: grain, seeds and animal feed.
• Ores and metals: raw materials for the steel industry and scrap.
• Containers: to and from seaports such as Antwerp and Rotterdam, and between inland terminals.
• Heavy and indivisible cargo: wind turbine components, transformers and machinery too large for the road.

The Rhine is Europe's busiest inland waterway. According to the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), around 284.5 million tonnes of goods were carried on the Rhine in 2024. The river links the seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp with Germany, France and Switzerland, and Duisburg is Europe's largest inland port.

In Belgium, the Albert Canal, the Scheldt, the Meuse and the Ghent-Terneuzen canal are the main axes. Via the Scheldt-Rhine connection, the port of Antwerp is directly linked to the Rhine basin. In the Netherlands, the Waal, the Meuse and the Amsterdam-Rhine canal form the backbone. Other important waterways are the Moselle, the Main and the Danube, which is connected to the Rhine basin via the Main-Danube canal.

Seaports are crucial for inland shipping. A large share of the goods arriving in Antwerp and Rotterdam continues to the hinterland by inland vessel.

Inland shipping has a layered regulatory framework:

• European Union: sets the broad lines, such as professional qualifications, technical requirements and transport policy.
• Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR): the world's oldest international organisation, with rules for the Rhine, such as the Rhine Police Regulations.
• CESNI: the European committee that develops the technical standards for inland vessels (ES-TRIN) and professional qualifications.
• ADN: the European agreement on the carriage of dangerous goods by inland waterways.
• National and regional authorities: such as De Vlaamse Waterweg in Flanders, Rijkswaterstaat and ILT in the Netherlands, and GDWS in Germany, which manage waterways and issue permits.

For anyone moving goods, inland shipping has three big advantages:

• Low cost per tonne: one inland vessel carries the load of dozens of trucks with one engine and a small crew. A 1,200-tonne vessel replaces around 50 trucks; the largest vessels around 220.
• Lower CO2 emissions: a large Rhine vessel emits roughly three times less CO2 per tonne-kilometre than a heavy truck.
• Reliability and capacity: an inland vessel does not get stuck in traffic, and many waterways still have room for more traffic.

Read the full comparison in our guide to inland shipping vs. road transport. If you want to move freight from road to water yourself, our modal shift guide takes you step by step.

The sector also faces major challenges:

• Shortage of boatmasters: many experienced boatmasters are retiring and too few new ones are joining. A shortage of 1,500 to 2,000 boatmasters is expected by 2035.
• Low water: in dry summers the Rhine runs low and vessels can load less, which pushes up costs.
• Energy transition: the fleet is ageing on average, and the switch to cleaner engines and alternative fuels requires major investment.
• Infrastructure: locks, bridges and quay walls need maintenance and expansion to absorb growth.

Inland shipping is digitalising fast. Vessels are increasingly connected to the shore, with AIS, sensors, cameras and a secure data link. That makes new ways of working possible.

The most important of these is remote operation. An experienced boatmaster sails the vessel as a Remote Operator from a Remote Operation Center (ROC) ashore, working together with the crew on board. That way vessels can keep sailing longer and, where the rules allow, with a smaller crew. In Flanders this is already permitted today; for the Rhine, the CCNR is working on the rules.

Seafar has been operating inland vessels remotely since 2019, on Belgian, Dutch and German waterways and on the Rhine. In doing so, we help to absorb the shortage of boatmasters and keep inland shipping affordable, so that more freight can move from road to water.

• Inland shipping vs. road transport: transport costs, CO2 and capacity compared.
• Modal shift: how to move freight from road to water, in six steps.
• AIS tracking vs. vessel monitoring: what your fleet really needs to sail safely and report.
• Boatmaster jobs: working as a Remote Operator or on board.

Want to see how remote operations work? Visit one of our Remote Operation Centers or request a demo.