Rhine water levels hit record lows at Kaub, splitting Europe's key waterway and disrupting industry

Record lows at Kaub

The Pegel Kaub at Rhine kilometre 546 has become the symbol of a severe low-water crisis. The previous record of 25 centimetres, set on 22 October 2018, was broken on 4 August 2026. By Friday morning the gauge read 9 centimetres, dropping to 7 at midday and 6 by evening, the lowest value since detailed records began. The digital display, not programmed for values below 10, showed only three dashes. By Saturday late morning the level had risen slightly to 11 centimetres, per monitoring by the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine. A reading of 10 centimetres does not mean the river is 10 centimetres deep; the fairway depth at Kaub was approximately 1.23 metres at that level, compared with 1.90 metres at the defined reference point of 77 centimetres.

River effectively split

With most ships unable to pass the shallow section at Kaub, the Rhine is effectively divided into a navigable northern section and an impassable southern one. Vessels from the north can still reach the Cologne area, supplying refineries and chemical plants, but cannot continue south. The BDB warned that at single-digit levels no traffic would be possible. Jens Schwanen, managing director of the BDB, told the Rheinische Post on Monday that the Rhine at Kaub could become impassable before the end of the week. Cargo companies have reduced loads to as little as one-fifth of normal capacity, and in some cases to one-sixth, to maintain shallower drafts. In Switzerland, the Untersee sits about 25 centimetres below the previous August minimum recorded since 1930.

Industry under pressure

About 80 percent of cargo-ship transport volume moves via the Rhine, across 884 navigable kilometres from the North Sea to Basel, and inland shipping accounted for 173 million of the 3.28 billion tonnes of goods transported in Germany in 2024. ThyssenKrupp's steelworks in Duisburg, standing directly on the river, normally receives 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of raw materials daily by inland ship; a spokeswoman said shifting even part of those volumes to road transport was not a realistic solution. Production has been adjusted to consume incoming raw materials more slowly, though the company says it is far from a production stop and customers have not yet felt effects. In Duisburg, home to the world's largest inland port, a gauge of 129 centimetres was recorded, a negative record. The IfW Kiel calculated in 2023 that 30 days of low water on the Rhine reduces German industrial production by about 1 percent. Economic Council member Veronika Grimm told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger that prices would likely rise as a result.

Politics does not make a good impression when it lurches from crisis to crisis and does not systematically develop strategies for adapting to climate change.

Captains and costs

Torsten Stuntz, a 56-year-old fourth-generation captain and co-owner of the cargo ship Stella Maris, has been idle since early August. The vessel, with a capacity of roughly 2,400 tonnes, has not moved a single tonne. Fixed costs of about 60,000 euros per month remain, including insurance, bank payments for the ship purchased eight years ago, and wages for four crew members sharing two positions. Three weeks of downtime per year is normal, but a longer forced pause would become uncomfortable. Stuntz saves on diesel, recently his largest expense, but the crew, three from the Czech Republic and one from Mainz, have little to do beyond maintenance work.

We have never had so little water. Not even my eighty-six-year-old father, who was also an inland sailor, ever experienced this.

Calls for fleet investment

Steffen Bauer, head of HGK Group, Europe's largest inland shipping company with 300 vessels, called for investment in up to 1,000 modern cargo ships by 2035, at an estimated cost of up to 12.5 billion euros. The current federal programme for green inland shipping totals 125 million euros, but the industry fears funding could expire at year's end. Transport Minister Steffen Bilger indicated that low-water ships could factor into 2027 federal budget discussions. The Rhine fleet across all riparian states comprises about 7,800 ships per the Central Commission for Rhine Navigation, of which roughly 2,000 are registered in Germany. HGK's most modern vessel, the Synthese 18, operating since June 2022, can still carry 485 tonnes even at the current record-low Kaub levels.

We cannot prevent low water. But we can build ships that remain capable for longer under difficult conditions.