The Yangtze Waterway Bureau is to announce actual water levels on 16 major shoals in the trunkline on the 1st, 11th and 21st days of the month, on top of the monthly guaranteed water levels released during the second half of the previous month. The new measure will allow shipping lines to adjust their shipload accordingly, not only to avoid the risk of being stranded but also to maximise capacity.

According to Minsheng Shipping, the largest private barge operator in the Yangtze, the guaranteed water level at several shoals in the middle reaches announced in January for the following month was 2.9 metres but on 11 February the actual level increased to 3.1 metres due to the water release cycle of the Three Gorges Dam. The greater frequency of water level announcements will allow shipping lines to better optimise the number of containers they can load onto a 150-teu barge and thereby realise significant cost savings.