A damaged barge blocked the Rhine in western Germany on Wednesday, at a crucial point for river navigation, already complicated by lack of water. Traffic on the section between St Goar and Oberwesel, located between the cities of Mainz and Koblenz, should resume during the day, according to the river police. The barge is beached not far from Kaub, the Rhine’s bottleneck for river transport and where the reference depth gauge is located.
With a level below the critical threshold of 40cm since last week, river navigation is increasingly complicated by the drought of recent weeks. If the gauging level does not correspond to the actual depth of the river, it reflects its navigability: the lower the level, the less the barges can load, reducing transport capacities, in particular hydrocarbons, until transport becomes completely impossible. .
4% freight
The prospect of a partial stoppage of traffic on this river, one of the busiest in the world, constitutes a new headache for German industry, already proven by the gas crisis in Russia and the rise in energy prices in full process of the war in Ukraine. . About 4% of cargo is transported by sea in Germany, including the Rhine, which originates in Switzerland to cross several countries, including France and Germany, before emptying into the sea in the Netherlands.
The river has regained importance in recent months because, to reduce its dependence on Russian gas in particular, Germany wants to turn more to coal. However, the large power plants are located mainly around the Rhine, a key river for its supply.
Source: BFM TV
