If the drought that Germany experiences continues, the inland shipping in the country is possible to come to a partial standstill. Namely, on the river Rhine, ships are only able to carry half or even less cargo as usual.
As Xinhua news agency reports, because of high temperatures and low water levels, the production facilities of chemical giant BASF cannot be cooled sufficiently and the production had to be reduced. What is more, BASF gradually reduced production in their Ludwigshafen plant.
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If the drought continues, shipping traffic may come to a partial standstill. Currently, about 80% of all goods transported by inland navigation vessels are transported via the Rhine.
To prevent restrictions on Germany’s waterways as is happening now, 24.5 billion euros were invested in projects such as the deepening of the riverbed of the Rhine.
In addition, the water level in Germany’s port of the city of Duisburg is heading towards the two-meter mark, compared to the average level of 4 meters. As of now, large ships are already facing challenges because of the drought.
Namely, last Friday a tanker got stuck in the Rhine. The ship sustained damages, and the incident is now under investigation. No injuries were reported, but Rhine had to be temporarily closed.