Drought and falling water levels in the Rhine led to the shutdown of all barges of the German metallurgical giant Thyssenkrupp Steel.
"The company is forced to charter alternative third-party vessels with a smaller draft and reduce production volumes at its key plant in Duisburg due to significant restrictions in the supply of raw materials," writes Reuters.
The Rhine is the main waterway for the transportation of fuel, raw materials and industrial goods in the country and its shallowing is rapidly increasing the cost of freight transportation and threatening the fragile recovery of the German economy, the agency said. Large barges are already forced to walk, filled only by 20%.
The German Inland Waterways Authority expects the water level to drop below 50 centimeters on the critically important section of the Rhine near the town of Kaub. At 40 centimeters, cargo shipping will stop there completely.
As EADaily reported, the heat and drought in Europe led to the shallowing of rivers, which became a big problem not only for the transportation of goods and fuel, but also for the operation of nuclear power plants, which are forced to stop from France to Romania.
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