Germany’s Rhine River water level falls to new lows, threatens to disrupt shipping industry
A transport vessel cruises past the partially dried riverbed of the Rhine river
The water level in the Rhine River, a key shipping route in Germany and Europe, has fallen to a record low due to the ongoing drought, causing huge disruption to the shipping industry with some vessels unable to sail.
A lack of rain combined with an unrelenting heatwave has led to "exceptionally low" water in some areas of Germany’s most important inland waterway.
Officials have warned that the crisis would further compound in the upcoming days with the water level in the Kaub, a common reference point in the Rhine, predicted to drop as low as 35 centimetres on August 15, according to estimates by the German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration on Friday.
Most barges require water levels above 40 cm to travel.
On Friday, container logistics service company Contargo said that it would discontinue its barge operations on the Middle and upper Rhine river, transporting what goods it could overground to its terminals on the Lower Rhine, reports Reuters news agency.
"Due to the difficult situation we regretfully have to point out that we can no longer guarantee to meet all deadlines," it said in a statement.
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The Deutsche Bank economists said the situation is reminiscent of 2018 when a similar problem with the river led to a "standstill of freight shipping" and reduced German economic growth by an estimated 0.2 per cent.
The experts now estimate that Rhine disruption this year could plunge the GDP level by half a percentage point.
Credit rating agency Moody's said that the Rhine situation will increase costs for chemicals companies, especially those with production facilities on the upper Rhine, and could lead to production cuts.
"I think it's more dangerous this time because the supply situation is tight anyway and the coal-fired power plants in particular, which are extremely important for generating electricity, are likely to be hit harder,” Jens-Oliver Niklasch, an economist at LBBW (Landesbank Baden-Württemberg), told Reuters news agency.
(With inputs from agencies)
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