IJssel One-Way Access Starts September 25 for Low Water

Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch national water and infrastructure agency, put the Upper IJssel on one-way shipping from Friday morning, September 25, 2026, because the channel is too shallow and too narrow for two-way traffic. In a notice published September 24, the agency said the rule applies from the mouth of the Twentekanaal at Zutphen toward the IJsselkop at Arnhem, that the opposite direction is closed, and that the measure stays in force as long as it is needed.

If you hold a Rhine or IJssel river cruise, a day boat, or a cargo-linked hotel stay between Arnhem and Zutphen, treat the northbound IJssel as closed and budget the published 300 kilometer detour. Use our Rhine river cruise route guide to see which legs still sit on the Waal and which ones depend on the IJssel branch.

One-Way Rule On the Upper IJssel

The restricted stretch is the Boven-IJssel between Zutphen and Arnhem. Ships may still sail the so-called opvaart, from the Twentekanaal mouth toward the IJsselkop. They may not sail the afvaart, from the IJsselkop toward the Twentekanaal. Rijkswaterstaat said overtaking and meeting bans at several bends were already in place and were no longer enough once the fairway kept narrowing.

The agency will mark the rule with traffic signs and keep shipping escorts at the IJsselkop. That junction is where the IJssel leaves the Neder-Rijn between Westervoort, Huissen, and Arnhem. Skippers should not assume a local pilot will wave them through downstream. The written ban is the operating rule until a later notice cancels it.

Rijkswaterstaat publishes the daily least-surveyed depth at 08:00 on Teletekst page 720 and on Vaarweginformatie. That number is the lowest water from riverbed to surface on the measured stretch, and skippers use it to set cargo. Travelers do not need the centimeter, but a cruise office watching that page is watching the same gate the barges use.

The 300 Kilometer Detour

Ships coming from Germany that would have turned onto the IJssel downstream from Arnhem must stay on the Waal to Tiel, take the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal to Amsterdam, pass the Oranjesluizen onto the Markermeer toward Lelystad, use the Houtribsluizen onto the IJsselmeer, then the Ketelmeer, and rejoin the IJssel from the north. Rijkswaterstaat puts that loop at a maximum of 300 kilometers.

For a passenger, that is not a scenic extra. It is extra hours, extra fuel cost passed into a ticket, and a real chance that a line drops an Arnhem, Zutphen, or Deventer call rather than steam the long way around. Confirm with the line whether your sailing still uses the IJssel or has already been rewritten onto the Waal only.

Do not treat the detour as a tourist option you can book a la carte. It exists so cargo and remaining passenger ships can still reach IJssel ports from the north. If your cabin is sold as an Arnhem to Zutphen downstream day, that day is the one the September 24 notice closes.

Rhine Levels Keep Falling at Lobith

DutchNews reported on September 28 that the Rhine at Lobith, where the river enters the Netherlands, measured 6.1 meters on Sunday, under the 6.12 meter mark set in August, and that discharge there has fallen below 600 cubic meters per second for the first time on record. The outlet said little Alpine rain is in the near forecast, so levels are expected to drop further this week.

The same report said a Dutch Melody river ship carrying 140 passengers became stuck mid-river near Cologne when the local gauge showed about 40 centimeters, leaving roughly 1.5 meters of navigable depth. German river police said another ship assisted and that the four-deck vessel was able to continue downriver, with a Monday arrival due in Nijmegen. That is a police-described assist, not a current claim that the ship remains aground.

DutchNews also said some ferries have been cancelled and that river cruises have cancelled trips or shortened itineraries where Rhine sections became impassable. It did not publish a line-by-line list in that item. Do not assume a named operator is cancelled unless that operator or Rijkswaterstaat names it. Check your own booking and the daily depth page.

What This Means for a Rhine Cruise This Week

The IJssel is a Rhine branch, not the main Cologne to Rotterdam trunk. Many classic Rhine sailings never enter it. The travelers who feel this first are those with Arnhem, Zutphen, Deventer, or Kampen on the printed itinerary, plus anyone using a local IJssel ferry as a hotel-to-station hop. Our July 2026 Rhine and Danube low-water roundup covered the summer reroute pattern. This notice is a new, dated IJssel one-way rule, not a repeat of that July window.

Ask the cruise line three questions in writing: whether the ship still transits the Upper IJssel, whether any Dutch call is replaced by a motorcoach, and whether a refund or a later sailing is on offer if a call is dropped. Keep the September 25 start date in the email so the agent cannot answer against an expired summer bulletin.

If you are not on a cruise but driving between Arnhem and Zutphen, this is a shipping rule, not a highway closure. Roads stay open. The traveler decision is on the water: miss a ferry, miss a ship call, or sit through a 300 kilometer extra loop if your vessel is still trying to reach an IJssel berth from the south.

How Long the One-Way Rule Lasts

Rijkswaterstaat wrote that the measure remains as long as needed. The September 24 notice has no sunset date. Dutch coverage after the start date has pointed to further Rhine falls into early October, which is a forecast, not a lift date. Plan as if the one-way rule is in force for any sailing that still lists the Upper IJssel this week and next, then re-read the same Rijkswaterstaat page before you travel.

Least-surveyed depth is the practical watch item. If that daily 08:00 figure rises enough for two-way traffic, the agency can restore the downstream run. Until it publishes that restoration, do not book an Arnhem to Zutphen downstream day on a verbal assurance from a dock agent.