How useful is a deepening of the Rhine?
Sometimes they can only charge 25 percent of the maximum capacity, depending on how much draft they have, i.e. how deep they are in the water. However, this problem cannot be solved by deepening the fairway if there is already too little water in the Rhine. For a ship not to run aground, it simply needs enough water and no deeper fairway. The Twitter user also takes up this principle under Schäffler’s tweet.
The deepening of the Rhine would therefore only be beneficial if there was enough water under the keel. Then generally larger ships with a greater draft could sail on the Rhine and transport more goods without running aground. This would reduce the overall transport costs. A deepening of the fairway could improve the conditions for larger ships at specific points – this is where the water in the fairway collects, which allows a deeper draft.
Federal government supports Rhine defense
The responsible federal government coordinator for the Rhine defense at Bacharach, Oliver Luksic from the FDP, continues to argue with the navigability of the Rhine at low water. The idea of deepening the Rhine has been promoted there for a long time, reports among others the SWR.
The General Directorate of the Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) has explained how this should take place. Rocks would have to be removed, which leads to shaking. Test excavations have recently shown that a deepening would be possible.
Conservationists fear environmental damage
However, critics see ecological consequences of a deepening of the Rhine. The mayor of Bacharach, Philipp Rahn, has great concerns. In his opinion, the deepening of the Rhine would interfere too much with the landscape at this point, he told SWR. The shore areas that are still being washed over would silt up. Oliver Luksic, on the other hand, appeases. The interventions would be small. The deepening of the Rhine is to be implemented in an environmentally friendly manner.
Nature conservation organizations such as BUND also see a long-term problem. He had a study made on a deepening of the Rhine between Duisburg and Cologne. After that, the water quality of the river would deteriorate due to the serious interference with the water structure of the Rhine and the corresponding ecosystem.
Politics will make the waterway reinforced
According to the BUND, the deepening of the fairway would lead to a drop in the groundwater level and endanger neighboring floodplains and wetlands. In addition, shallow water areas where fish spawn would become rarer.
Despite all of these feared risks and the obvious benefits of extremely low water, as is currently the case, politicians are sticking to plans to make the Rhine waterway more significant. Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst also supports the project, which is part of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030, and WSV President Hans-Heinrich Witte confirms: