After months of exceptionally low rainfall, water levels on the Rhine have fallen to extreme lows at numerous points along the river. For freight shipping, this means ships must carry lighter loads, more trips are required, and transport costs are rising.
Effects of these proceedings are now being felt as far as Luxembourg, with experts warning that such conditions are likely to become more frequent in the future.
Marc Daniel Heintz of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) notes that this year’s situation is highly unusual.
Since 2000, there have been four major low water events: in 2003, 2018, 2022, and now in 2026. According to Heintz, this year’s episode is the most extreme to date.
A key reference point for the shipping industry is Kaub, on the Middle Rhine. Last week, water levels there reached minus six centimetres, Heintz shared.
While this does not mean the Rhine has dried up at that location, it does mean that ships are navigating in water just 1.07 metres deep, which is far less than is needed for large cargo vessels.
The consequences are clear: when water levels drop, ships can no longer load as deeply, which means they must transport less cargo per journey.
Raphaël Wisselmann from the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) explains that the volume carried by a single loaded cargo ship typically equates to between 150 and 250 lorry loads, or four to five trains, making it extremely difficult to simply shift this freight to road or rail.
A few days of rainfall will not resolve the problem, according to Heintz. In order for river conditions to improve sustainably, plentiful and persistent rain is needed over a longer period.
Runoff from the Alps is also an important factor. During extreme low water phases, melting glaciers can provide some relief.
However, as glaciers are already disappearing due to climate change, this source of water will eventually dry up, further exacerbating the problem in the long term.
The situation on the Luxembourg stretch of the Moselle is less severe. The river is canalised and dammed, which allows for better regulation of water levels for shipping.
However, this only provides support as far as the Rhine. Gilles Braquet, managing director of Luxport in Mertert, explains that ships on the Moselle are still able to operate at up to roughly 80% of their normal load, whereas conditions are much worse on the Rhine itself.
He illustrates the scale of the problem with a concrete example: where previously a single ship was sufficient to transport 2,000 tonnes of goods, under current conditions it now takes between eight and ten ships to move the same amount.
At Mertert, imports such as scrap metal, fertiliser, and sand are affected, as are exports of steel products and containers. Some of these goods are now being diverted onto roads and railways as a result.
While low water is a natural part of the Rhine’s cycle, experts expect such events to become more frequent, longer-lasting, and more severe in the future.
For Luxport, this means adapting to become even more flexible. Gilles Braquet believes that the future of the port lies in ever-closer integration of shipping, rail, and road transport – a truly trimodal network.
