Mississippi River

Increased droughts are forcing shipping companies to abandon some of The World 's main river cargo routes, warns Ann Christina Sloek-Andersen.

Ms Sloek-Andersen is a senior director at global shipping giant Maersk.

" [Last Summer ] we had to switch a lot of cargo from river to rail in Europe, " she says, " in order to keep the big German industry clusters in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hessen connected to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. "

More Than 300 million tonnes of goods a year are typically transported by cargo riverboats on the wide Rhine River , which flows for almost 800 miles from Switzerland to the Netherlands, where it joins the North Sea .

Yet during the summer months of Last Year , record low water levels meant some vessels were able to carry just 25% of their usual load, so as not to risk running aground on the riverbed. This caused severe delays to shipping.

" There are lots of well-known German and Swiss blue-chip companies. . That rely on inland waterways to get raw materials and products in and out, " says Ms Sloek-Andersen.

The cargo Maersk's riverboats carry ranges from temperature-sensitive fresh produce and pharmaceuticals, to raw materials Like chemicals, and car and machinery parts.

" We carry our customers' cargo on barges wherever possible, " says Ms Sloek-Andersen, " because it means far less CO2 emissions compared to trucks. "

However, when the Rhine 's levels fell Last Summer , Maersk says its existing partnerships with rail providers meant they were able to " jump in with extra capacity".

Rail, says Ms Sloek-Andersen, is the preferred alternative to river as they have at around 20-30g of CO2 per tonne-km per year (gCO2e/tkm), as opposed to trucks That emit almost 140 gCO2e/tkm.

However, she adds That other companies had to switch to road freight.

And it wasn't just Europe That found itself high and dry Last Year .

" You could - That 's not something we were prepared for, " says Sarah Schiffling, lecturer in supply chain management at Liverpool Business School .

The Mississippi River is used to transport but Last Year were estimated to

" Droughts are not a new phenomenon, " says Ms Schiffling, " but [Last Year ] we saw droughts in multiple areas across The World , all at the same time. It had a massive impact on inland shipping. "

In China, parts of the Yangtze River, whose surrounding provinces produce were closed to ships because water levels

Meanwhile, two-thirds of Europe experienced drought conditions in 2022, as The Continent saw its worst dry spell

It Comes as studies show That drought conditions are only expected

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So What can be done to help river barges stay afloat? In Germany, one proposed solution is to deepen a shallow section of the Rhine .

This would enable cargo riverboats to carry at least an extra 200 tonnes, according to Germany's Waterways and Shipping Office.

But plans to deepen a 31-mile section of The World Heritage-listed Middle Rhine - where The River is lined with castles and vineyards - are controversial.

" Deepening and widening the area will have knock-on effects on The Environment - flooding and destroying ecosystems, " says Ms Schiffling. " And, of course, it doesn't solve The Core problem. No matter how deep you make it, there's just not enough water. "

Rather than swapping to land transport, one manufacturer of cargo riverboats, Germany's HGK, is now producing vessels That can continue to sail in very shallow waters.

" Our shallow-water tanker, Synthese 18, can transport cargo weighing 300 tonnes - Even if the water is only 1. 05 metres deep, " says Anke Bestmann, HGK's shipping business unit leader.

The Boat has a very short vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of its hull, a measurement known as a " draft". To compensate for this lack of depth, the vessel is wider than older barge designs.

It is also made from a lighter-weight Stainless Steel , and the riverboat's design is said to allow for great uplift as it moves along the water.

Fellow HGK director Tim Godde adds That The Firm is " convinced That Inland Waterway vessels will transport Even more goods in future".

However, Maersk's Ms Sloek-Andersen says That The Ability for a transportation firm to adapt, and switch from river to rail, and so on, is key.

" Having a single provider for all parts of a supply chain makes it much easier and quicker to react and mitigate negative impact if disruption occurs - Like a low-water period on one of the main inland waterways of Europe, " she says.

Source of news: bbc.com