Too many prayers were answered...
Since mid-April, water levels of the Rhine River, Europe’s most important waterway, have begun to drop to critical levels. This could disrupt shipping operations, in particular on the stretch from Koblenz to Rotterdam.
As of May 3, water levels at Kaub, one of the Rhine’s narrowest points south of Cologne, remained around 135 cm, a level that typically forces shipping lines to impose low-water surcharges on shipments. This increases costs for river-dependent industries such as chemicals, metallurgy, and energy that move raw materials between terminals and suppliers from the Netherlands all the way to Switzerland.
Low-water surcharges apply at critical water levels
Fluctuating water levels pose a threat to barge operators and manufacturers relying on river shipping as they can reduce the transportation capacity of ships, which requires companies to organize more costly alternative modes of transportation, such as road and rail, for large volumes of cargo. When water levels on the Rhine River fall below 135 cm, ships are only able to load as much as 50 percent of their usual capacity to avoid running aground.
Water levels – data from selected gauging stations on German federal waterways
Map with latest water-levels.
https://www.bafg.de/EN/06_Info_Service/01_WaterLevels/waterlevels_node.html