The water level of the Rhine River is at a key waypoint of the new low, risking the transit of fuel and other goods as Europe's climate crisis exacerbates its energy-supply crunch.
The marker at Kaub, a particularly shallow point west of Frankfurt, dropped to 30 centimeters 11.8 inches earlier on Monday before edging back up, according to the latest German government data. It is projected to fluctuate around 31 - 33 centimeters as the week progresses.
The water levels on the Middle and Lower Rhine are currently at an exceptionally low level for this time of year, the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority, known as WSA, said in a statement. The lack of precipitation has resulted in a lack of precipitation in recent weeks and months. The Rhine River is the most important river in western Europe for the transport of fuel and other industrial goods. Many barges find it uneconomical to transit past Kaub when the water level there is at 40 centimeters or below. The marker is not the actual depth of the river, but rather a reference for navigability.
The WSA said it hadn't imposed shipping restrictions, noting that less cargo can be transported when water levels are low.
Last week, shipping company Contargo, which also operates terminals, said that a drop at Kaub to below 40 centimeters would cause it to largely discontinue its barge business on the middle and upper Rhine. Neska Container Line B.V. said on Aug. 11 that its barges weren't able to call at Cologne and Dusseldorf - downriver from Kaub and that inland waterway barge handling would be possible from around Aug. 19.
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BASF SE plans to put into service a new low-water vessel that can carry 650 tons of cargo with the Kaub level at 30 centimeters, the company said. It also has a water depth of 1.6 meters 5.25 feet, which is significantly more than other tankers and about 25% of its capacity in average low water, BASF said. The company is using a vessel that can carry 200 tons of liquefied gases at 30 centimeters.
According to official data from Bloomberg, the measured water-level at Kaub hasn't been this low since 1990. Prior to November 2013, data was tallied on a daily rather than an intraday basis. The level fell as low as 24 centimeters in late 2018, as high as 24 centimeters.
As the heat wave bears down on the region, energy prices on the continent have gone up. On Monday, Benchmark natural gas futures went up, while German year-ahead power went to a new record.
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