“If the transport of coal is hindered, we’ll see electricity shortages starting in September.”īaldi says drought, war and supply chain bottlenecks are sending Europe’s biggest economy into a nosedive toward recession. “This is particularly problematic now, as Germany attempts to wean itself off Russian gas and needs coal plants as a backup,” Baldi says.

He predicts a coal shortage - in addition to ongoing global supply chain problems - will lead to Germany’s economic output falling 0.5% in the third quarter. “If there are problems transporting coal on the Rhine, we’ll see shortages at coal-fired power plants in September, and they may not be able to generate electricity,” says Guido Baldi, a researcher with the German Institute for Economic Research. The flow of one of the most vital commodities, coal, is in jeopardy, and that could have severe consequences for Europe’s biggest economy. This year, there is only 5 feet of water at the deepest point in the river near Koblenz. The Koblenz city gauge house shows the point at which the water rose to during an historic flood in the year 651. But it’s not enough: It would take 40 trucks to carry the grain that one barge normally could. This year, companies are scrambling to carry freight aboard trucks instead. Frankfurt Airport, one of the world’s busiest, saw reduced jet fuel deliveries that year because companies weren’t able to deliver fuel by boat. That year, Schmid-Breton says, German industry lost nearly $3 billion as goods weren’t able to reach their destinations. But the last time the Rhine was this low was just four years ago, in 2018.

His commission estimates that low water levels happen, on average, once every 20 years. Instead, says Schmid-Breton, companies are opting to send fewer goods on more ships, leading to a more congested river. But the last time this happened was four years ago.

He says the low water level on the Rhine this year happens, on average, once every 20 years. “But I haven’t seen those ships on the river in weeks.”Īdrian Schmid-Breton is a scientist at the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine. “Normally you see these huge container ships carrying goods from Rotterdam,” says Adrian Schmid-Breton of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine. 16, 2022įor this stretch of the river, that means more ships carrying fewer goods, drifting by a rapidly receding shore of brown rocks topped by dead grass and withering trees. Shallow Rhine River has a devastating effect on commercial traffic Aug. “Ships that usually take 2,400 metric tons of freight are now taking only 500 tons so they don’t run aground - that’s a massive reduction in load.” “It’s less of a problem for us pleasure cruises, but freight ships and tankers are having problems,” says Merkelbach. Tourist boats along the shore of the Rhine in the German city of Koblenz are still operating with the low water levels on the river, but they’ve had to stop mooring at several locations due to the lack of water. Millions of tons of commodities are moved through the Rhine and shipping disruptions are certain to further impact Germany’s economy, already reeling from global supply chain disruptions and record high energy costs stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “If it continues like this, parts of the river will be shut to shipping, something I’ve never experienced.”Įurope’s hot, dry summer means that the water level on the Rhine, Western Europe’s most important waterway, is at a record low, making it too shallow for many ships to pass - a problem for a country that depends on the river for 80% of its water freight. “We can still sail from Koblenz, but we’ve got several moorings we can no longer stop at because the water is too shallow,” he says.

When the river runs dry acoustic