PostedAugust 12, 2022, 9:56 PM
GermanyRhine level drops below crucial level, transport threatened
At Kaub, the river is now only 38 centimeters deep. The value is expected to fall further, and transport companies will have to find other solutions.
At Kaub, the Rhine fell below 40 centimeters on Friday.
AFP
The level of the Rhine at the Kaub measuring point in Germany, a benchmark used to judge its navigability, fell below the 40 centimeter level on Friday, considered necessary for much of the river transport.
The prospect of a partial stoppage of traffic on this river, one of the busiest in the world, is a new headache for German industry, already hit by the Russian gas crisis and soaring energy prices, in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine. The gauge, about 30 kilometers south of Koblenz, fell to 38 centimeters in the early evening and is expected to continue to drop to around 35 cm by Monday, according to data and forecasts from the Federal Waterways Authority.
Below 40cm, “our barges will no longer be able to navigate without danger and, for safety reasons, we will have to largely interrupt our navigation on the Upper and Middle Rhine”, warned, Friday, on its site, the transport company Contargo , noting that no improvement was to be expected soon.
About 4% of freight is transported by sea in Germany, including on the Rhine, which originates in Switzerland and passes through several countries, including France and Germany, before emptying into the sea in the Netherlands.
Hard hit to the economy
The river has regained importance in recent months because, to reduce its dependence on Russian gas in particular, Germany wants to turn more to coal. However, the major power stations are mainly located around the Rhine, a key river for their supply. Germany’s biggest companies have already warned that major disruptions to river traffic could deal another blow to an economy already beset by logistical difficulties.
The 2018 drought, which saw the benchmark depth of the Rhine at Kaub drop to 25 centimeters in October, cut German GDP by 0.2% that year, according to Deutsche Bank Research.
(AFP)