Falling water levels could bring cargo traffic to a standstill on a crucial stretch of the Rhine this week, effectively dividing the vital German waterway into two navigable zones, the federal association of German inland shipping (BDB) said.
Jens Schwanen, the BDB’s managing director, told the Rheinische Post newspaper that water levels at Germany’s Kaub gauging station were expected to fall into single digits for the first time as dry conditions persist.
Kaub is located south of Koblenz along one of the Middle Rhine’s shallowest stretches, making it a critical point for commercial vessels.
“Commercial shipping will no longer be able to transport goods in the region at such low water levels,” he said.
“In principle, the Rhine is then no longer navigable along its entire length and thus split in two,” he added.
Schwanen said vessels would still be able to operate between the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp, the northern German Rhine and the western German canal network. Farther south, traffic would continue along tributaries such as the Main, Moselle and Neckar rivers, as well as the Main-Danube Canal.
Over the weekend, Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, joined Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in easing trucking restrictions. The move was intended to relieve transport bottlenecks created by low water levels on waterways including the Rhine.
The disruption comes as Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, continues to endure record-breaking heat this Summer.
Last week, sections of the Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, fell to record-low levels after successive heatwaves left much of the continent parched since May.
