Drought hits Rhine shipping route

Dwindling water levels on the River Rhine are threatening to bring business along the route to a standstill, with central and Eastern European industry dependent on the waterway


Barge draft restrictions
Low water levels – barges must carry less cargo to avoid hitting river bottom, increasing cost per unit
AIR DRAFT
Loaded barge
DEEP DRAFT

Barges transport raw materials to industrial Ruhr heartland

NETHERLANDS
Rotterdam 
River Rhine
BELGIUM
Duisburg 
Cologne
Bonn
Mainz
Frankfurt

Kaub
Key waypoint to drop below critical level

LUX.
GERMANY 
FRANCE 
Mannheim
Stuttgart
Strasbourg
Basel
SWITZERLAND


Kaub water level forecast 
Navigable water level: 40cm

60cm 
40cm 
20cm
AUG 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Aug 16: Expected to fall below 34cm


Sources: ELWIS, EIA 
Picture: Getty Images 
© GRAPHIC NEWS