Rhine River threatens to split in two in Germany as navigation faces shutdown

Germany's vital Rhine River is facing a critical situation, with water levels dropping to historically low points that threaten to make it unnavigable and effectively split the waterway in two, the German Inland Waterways Association (BDB) warned Monday.

Jens Schwanen, the BDB's general manager, told the Rheinische Post that the persistent lack of rainfall means the water level at Kaub, a crucial reference point for navigation and the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate, is expected to fall below 10 centimeters this week for the first time. At such low levels, the Rhine "will no longer be continuously navigable and will be split in two," Schwanen explained, impeding both commercial cargo transport and excursion boats in the region.

As of Monday morning, the reference level at Kaub was 17 cm, corresponding to a navigable channel depth of 130 cm, according to local measurement stations. The previous record low at Kaub was 25 cm in 2018, the waterways authority reported. While river traffic may continue between the ARA ports (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp) and North Rhine-Westphalia up to Cologne, and on tributaries like the Neckar, Moselle, Main, and the Main-Danube Canal further south, the overall impact is severe.

This crisis, a consequence of chronic rainfall deficits combined with high temperatures exacerbated by climate change, means ships can only carry a fraction of their usual cargo. Carriers must increase the number of trips, significantly raising logistics costs. German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger has floated the idea of temporarily suspending Sunday and holiday driving bans for trucks to shift more freight to road transport, a measure already adopted by states like Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate.