Gauge Oestrich is on the Rhine at kilometre 518, on the km 508–540 stretch. The GlW is 92 cm and the fairway depth maintained below it (TuGlW) is 190 cm; after deducting 30 cm of safety margin the official rule of thumb comes out at Oestrich +68. In practice Oestrich +110 is used here, +42 cm against the official rule. This gauge has 3 forecast sources: the 4-day forecast from Elwis (green), the 2-day forecast from the Hochwasserzentrale Rheinland-Pfalz (red) and the 14-day forecast from the BAfG (yellow). Upstream lies Mainz, downstream Bingen.
Oestrich
There are quite a few shallows in the Oestrich section. One of the most dangerous is the one at Lorch due to its rocky bottom, see also the bottleneck profile from the WSA about this. According to the Elwis Depth Atlas, the bottom here is at approx. Oestrich + 130/140. Additionally, near Bingen at the junction with the Rüdersheimer fairway and the harbour entrance, there is a shallow (mainly on the left side of the fairway), consisting of gravel. Furthermore, between km 524.5 and km 526 there is a shallow on the right side of the fairway (gravel), here too the marked channel is drawn completely over it. Upstream traffic must sail close to the left bank here (along the training wall) (that's where the most water is), so that downstream traffic can avoid the shallow as much as possible. A similar shallow in the inner bend is located between km 516.3 and km 519.8 near the Oestrich-Winkel ferry on the right bank. For upstream traffic, it is also best here to sail close along the green buoys (there it is deepest) so that downstream traffic can avoid the shallow as much as possible. Additionally, at the entrance to the Kleine Gies there is also a fairly long shallow. Between 515 and 515.8 there is also a shallow on the right bank on the corner, here upstream traffic must keep to the left bank as much as possible so that downstream traffic can avoid the shallow. See also the depth charts of the Dutch and German Rhine branches on pdf v20-08-2026.