The water level in the Rhine River, Germany’s most important water artery, has dropped to a historical minimum. This sharp decline has seriously endangered freight transport in Europe’s largest inland water transport network.
Sea-news.az reports that a record-low water level has been recorded in the port zones of Duisburg-Ruhrort, Düsseldorf, and Cologne. In Duisburg-Ruhrort, the water level dropped to 149 cm, breaking the anti-record of August 2022 (151 cm). In Düsseldorf, the indicator fell to 21 cm, hitting an all-time low.
Due to the massive shallowing of the Rhine River, cargo ships and barges can no longer operate at full deadweight capacity. According to Markus Neumann, a representative of the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Administration, most ships can only take about 20% of their normal cargo volume due to the risk of grounding. This makes the operation of particularly large oil and chemical tankers completely uneconomical.
The long-term drought and sharp decrease in precipitation continuing in Central Europe are cited as the main causes of the crisis. According to hydrologists and meteorologists, the situation in the waters is not expected to improve anytime soon.
The drop in the water level has negatively affected passenger and cruise navigation alongside commercial shipping. In Cologne, due to low water, the number of ships participating in the traditional “Cologne Lights” sea and river festival was reduced, and the grounding of a vessel near the city has already been recorded.
