A cargo barge navigates the River Rhine at Boppard, downriver of Kaub, February 2018.
KRISPEN ATKINSON
Due to the European-wide drought, concerns have been raised with regard to ships navigatingthe River Rhine, as water levels dropped significantly. The river is a key logistics corridor, with millions of tons of cargo, including containers, coal, petroleum products, steel productsand ore, carried by inland barges along about 540 miles, from the North Sea at Rotterdam to the Swiss-German border.
In August levels dropped at Kaub, a location west of Frankfurt, between Koblenz and Mainz, to around 30cm for a brief period.
While not an actual draught measurement of the river, it is a measurement used to calculate the river’s navigability, with readings of above 40cm accepted as being the minimum for most barges to operate economically. Moving goods by barge is a key part of the European economy. KS