[Anchor]
Amid heatwaves and droughts sweeping across Europe, the Rhine River, a vital waterway for European industry, is drying up. As logistics and shipping face disruptions, companies in Germany are declaring force majeure, or breach of contract.
Correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports from Paris.
[Reporter]
This is Kaub, a major logistics hub on the Rhine River in Germany.
The area surrounding Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, which used to collect tolls from passing ships, has turned into bare ground.
The water level at the Kaub gauge has dropped to 16 cm, and it is projected to fall to a single digit for the first time in history this weekend.
[Bernd Vogt / Mayor of Kaub: The Kaub gauge serves as a benchmark for ships navigating the Rhine. Companies transport many raw materials by ship, and cargo volumes are determined based on the Kaub gauge reading.]
The current depth of the navigable waterway is 1.29 meters, and as it continues to dry up, warnings have been issued that the river route could be cut off by this weekend.
If this happens, the Rhine waterway—which originates in the Swiss Alps, passes through Germany, and extends to the Netherlands—will be split in two.
German industry, which has major production facilities along the Rhine, is taking a direct hit.
Currently, some barges are operating carrying only 20 percent of their normal load.
Freight rates have also doubled compared to June.
Usually, a single ship carries the equivalent of 60 trucks, but due to shortages in road and rail networks, there are limits to transporting goods overland.
Because of this, some companies have even gone as far as declaring force majeure.
A force majeure declaration is a measure announced to be exempt from responsibility when contractual obligations cannot be fulfilled due to natural disasters or other unforeseen events. The chemical company Covestro notified its customers that due to the low water level of the Rhine, disruptions have occurred in raw material supply, production, and product delivery, making it difficult to supply certain products.
Production disruptions are spreading to major German manufacturers such as ThyssenKrupp and BASF.
[Katharina Stelzner / Head of Agricultural Business Division, German Company: This is an absolute catastrophe right now. We are currently unable to deliver goods to processors via ships. Where possible, we are delivering by truck, but literally only where it is possible.]
The German meteorological authority expects the low water level issue on the Rhine to be resolved only around October.
As damages from heatwaves and droughts grow not only in Germany but across Europe, projections suggest that total damages for the European Union could reach 295 trillion KRW.
(Photo: Kim Si-nae | Video Editing: Yeji)
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