Low Rhine Levels Force Companies To Adapt To New Normal

An inland vessel passes a river bed that is almost dry due to low water levels of the Waal River in Nijmegen, Netherlands August 7, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Sep 26, 2026 (Bloomberg) –The halls of the Development Center for Ship Technology and Transport Systems in Duisburg, Germany are lined with model ships, small-scale prototypes of vessels that may end up working on Europe’s busiest waterway, the Rhine.

This year, DST’s researchers are focusing on how to cope with new constraints on the river. Water levels on the Rhine hit a record low this week, prolonging a shipping crisis caused by a summer of droughts across Europe. As climate change makes extreme weather conditions like this more likely, industries that relied on the river are having to adapt.