The water level on the Rhine River is the lowest since measurements began to be recorded. At the Kaub chokepoint, the level is eight centimeters. This is the measurement between the river bed and the keel of a fully loaded river ship. A minimum of 30 cm is required to keep a ship from running aground. This is 17 centimeters below the previous low from the drought year of 2018.
A personal observation of the river near Wiesbaden revealed there were no ships on the usually busy Rhine. Ships sailing below Kaub are carrying a fraction of their normal capacity, while some shippers have stopped altogether because of the high cost.
