The Rhine River could soon become effectively split in two for commercial shipping as water levels continue to fall amid persistent dry weather, Germany’s inland shipping association has warned.
Jens Schwanen, managing director of the Federal Association of German Inland Navigation, said the gauge at Kaub, a crucial point for freight traffic, was forecast to fall into single digits for the first time this week.
“Commercial shipping will no longer be able to transport goods in the region at such low water levels,” Schwanen told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
He said excursion boats and river cruises would also be affected.
“In principle, the Rhine would then no longer be continuously navigable and would be divided into two,” Schwanen said.
Shipping would still be possible between the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, roughly as far as Cologne.
Further south, traffic could continue on tributaries and connected waterways including the Neckar, Moselle, Main and Main-Danube Canal.
Historic low-water levels were recorded at several points on the Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia over the weekendย after weeks of dry weather and too little rainfall across the river’sย catchment area.
The falling river is already forcing freight vessels to carry much lighter loads, pushing up transport costs for industries that depend on bulk cargo.