Hot and dry weather in northern Europe has resulted in a sharp fall of water levels on the River Rhine, Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) in London report on their website.

This is a matter of concern not just for the freight traffic on the waterway that runs from Switzerland via Germany to the Netherlands, but also for cruise operators on the waterway.

Water levels on the River Rhine continue to fall amid hot, dry weather in northwestern Europe, with water height at points expected to fall below 80 cm by the weekend.

To put this in a context, Neptun Werft that is part of Meyer Werft group and which has built a long series of river cruise vessels for Viking says on its website that the 135 metre “long ships” of the cruise operator have a draught of 160 cm.

“Water levels at the Kaub measuring point, located above Frankfurt, fell below 110 cm at midday local time on Tuesday, according to projections from Germany’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV), ICIS said.

“Levels below 120 cm at Kaub – a key chokepoint for water-borne freight – are when shipping along the river starts to be affected, and the declines projected through the rest of the week are likely to substantially reduce the loads that tankers can carry,” it continued.

“Water levels at Kaub are expected to fall close to 100 cm before the end of the day, according to WSV forecasts, dwindling further to 96 cm by Wednesday night, and to 78 cm by the morning of 16 July. More normal water levels would be around 200 cm,” ICIS concluded.