The ongoing low water levels in the Rhine are putting a strain on the economy and could cause significant economic damage this year. “It’s a really critical situation,” said Nicole Rabold, transport policy spokeswoman for the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
If the water level at Kaub in Rhineland-Palatinate falls below 40 centimeters, economically viable inland shipping would no longer be possible, said Rabold. The section on the Middle Rhine between St. Goar and Mainz is considered a central bottleneck on the important German waterway. A water level is a relative water height measured from a specified point. It does not show the actual water depth to the bottom. The depth of the channel is particularly important for shipping. The fairway is the area in which there are normally certain widths and depths for ship traffic. There are differences depending on the section of the Rhine.
Historical lows
Although the water level in Kaub had recently risen slightly after some rainfall, in the past few days it has again fallen below the previous low, which was measured at 25 centimeters in 2018. This summer it was already in the single digits.
As a result, freight shipping on the Rhine collapsed: freight ships can either no longer sail at all or can only sail empty. This drives up costs, as a spokeswoman for the Rheinhessen Chamber of Industry and Commerce added. Historical lows were not only measured in Kaub: in Cologne, for example, the water level was recently below the previous low of 69 centimeters from 2018.
More frequent low water expected
Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) expects that low water periods will become more frequent in Germany in the future due to climate change and that this will also have significant consequences for freight transport. This summer, the low water levels occurred particularly early and violently, Bilger told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Supply bottlenecks were avoided by suspending the holiday driving ban for trucks, adding additional rail capacity and postponing non-urgent construction sites.
Bilger called for an expansion of the waterways. “For me too, the expansion of the waterway is part of it, especially on the Rhine, where most goods are transported,” he said. The waterway is the most environmentally friendly transport route. If goods transport is hardly possible for several weeks in the summer, customers' trust in inland waterway vessels is at risk of being lost. The deepening of the Rhine, which has been discussed for decades, must now finally be tackled.
Lessons learned from low water year 2018
How high the economic damage will be this year is still unclear, said Rabold. In the low water year of 2018 it was around 2.4 billion euros. Since then, investments have been made and logistics have been optimized - for example with low-water ships. Improved water level forecasts could also help to plan transport better.
“It remains to be seen whether the damage will exceed that of 2018,” said Rabold. However, it can already be assumed that the economic damage will be “immense”. With a view to climate change, it must also be expected that low water years will occur more frequently. A single measure will not solve the problem. However, deepening the Rhine could help, said Rabold. At the same time, the federal government must invest significantly more in waterways.
The consequences could also last longer for consumers - for example at the petrol pump. “It will take until October before we are back to normal prices,” said Rabold, referring to the effects of the restricted transport.
