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Cologne – Heat and too little rainfall are putting pressure on the Rhine, Germany’s most important waterway. The level fell to just 92 cm at the Cologne measuring station on Tuesday and to 90 cm on Wednesday. A water level of about 3 meters is normal. Trend for the next few days: Water levels continue to fall. And this has implications for shipping.
Nina Luig (43), managing director of Cologne-Düsseldorfer (KD) Shipping, has never experienced such low water levels so early in the year. She told BILD: “Rhine levels are falling rapidly at the moment. Of our 15 ships, three no longer sail, including the converted paddle steamer Goethe.
This was exactly the situation on July 9 in Bonn against the backdrop of the closed Northbridge. Since then the level has continued to fall steadily.
The remaining KD fleet can no longer access several stations on the Middle Rhine, including Koblenz, Oberlahnstein, Braubach, Kamp-Bornhofen, Oberwesel and Lorch. And where there are fewer ships, there are fewer passengers.
What drought means for employees
For KD employees, this currently means shorter days off and vacations where possible. “We’re hoping it will rain again soon in the south so the water levels will rise again and the season won’t end yet,” Luig said.
In Bonn (North Rhine-Westphalia) the ship “Reynix” is standing on the shore. The Bonn passenger ship no longer serves several stops, including Bonn-Bundeshaus, Bad Honnef, Rolandseck, Unkel and Bad Breisig.
Climate expert: ‘I’ve never experienced anything like this before’
In the former capital, climate scientist Dr. Carsten Brandt (52) encountered a rare phenomenon on Monday: “I can see the river bottom from the bridge over the Rhine, I have never encountered such a phenomenon before,” he told BILD. Also Ships didn’t see him driving that day.
Bingen am Rhein: channel for transport vessels limited
This is what’s happening with freight shipping.
The impact on freight transport is even greater. The water level in the narrow place of Kauba on Tuesday was 45 cm, on Wednesday – 42 cm – absolute low water. The result: ships are only allowed to load a third of their capacity and therefore carry less cargo, the German Inland Navigation Transport Cooperative (DTG) said at the request. DTG board member Andreas Grzib (59) told BILD: “Some types of ships with too much draft no longer sail south.” However, this increases already high transport costs. water again.
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Will the river dry up even more?
Florian Krekel, spokesman for the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority, told BILD: “The water level continues to fall day by day, we are on a decline.” Only on Thursday it will be after rains slight increase is expected. After this, levels should continue to fall.
Even local thunderstorms with precipitation and even severe weather are not helping the Rhine much at the moment. “The bad news is that you don’t get really long-lasting rainfall, it’s just patchy and doesn’t stay in the ground,” Dr. Brandt explains. “I fear levels will be even lower in the medium term,” it predicts. Weather experts.