Rhine River Water Levels Falling Below 10 cm... Logistics Facing Major Emergency

[Anchor]

Amid heatwaves and droughts sweeping across Europe, even the Rhine River, a vital waterway for European industry, is drying up. As logistical disruptions continue, 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 along the Rhine River in Germany.

The area around Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, which historically collected tolls from passing ships, has turned into bare ground.

The water level at the Kaub gauge has dropped to 16 cm, and is forecast to plunge into single digits 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 readings.]

The navigable water depth is currently 1.29 meters, but as water levels continue to drop, warnings have been issued that the waterway 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 industries with major production facilities along the Rhine are taking a direct hit.

Currently, some barges are operating with only 20 percent of their usual cargo capacity.

Freight rates have also doubled compared to June.

Normally, a single vessel carries the equivalent of 60 trucks, but due to a shortage of road and rail networks, land transportation has its limits.

As a result, some companies have even gone as far as declaring force majeure.

A force majeure declaration is a measure taken to be exempted from liability when contractual obligations cannot be fulfilled due to natural disasters or similar events. The chemical company Covestro notified its customers that it would be difficult to deliver certain products due to disruptions in raw material supply, production, and product delivery caused by falling Rhine water levels.

Production disruptions are spreading to leading German manufacturing companies such as ThyssenKrupp and BASF.

[Katharina Steltzner / Head of Agricultural Business Division, German Company: It is an absolute catastrophe right now. We are currently unable to deliver products to processors via ships. Where possible, we are shipping by truck, but literally only where possible.]

The German meteorological agency expects the low water level issue on the Rhine to be resolved only in October.

As damage from heatwaves and droughts grows not only in Germany but across Europe, projections suggest that total damages for the European Union could reach 295 trillion won.

(Photo courtesy of Kim Si-nae | Video by Yeji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.