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Inland shipping in Germany could come to standstill if drought continues

On the river Rhine, Germany’s most important waterway, ships are only able to carry half or even less cargo as usual, the section responsible for shipping and waterways of the ministry of transport (GDWS) told the German press agency (dpa) on Friday. Due to high temperatures and low water levels, the production facilities of chemical giant BASF cannot be cooled sufficiently and the production had to be lowered, the company announced on Friday. In order to comply with the requirements of the German authorities, BASF had to gradually reduce production in their Ludwigshafen plant. During drought, the re-introduction of industrial cooling water into the Rhine is legally limited “If the warm, high-pressure weather continues and no significant rain falls, water levels will continue to fall,” said GDWS spokeswoman Claudia Thoma. “If necessary, shipping traffic may come to a partial standstill.” Around 80 percent of all goods transported by inland navigation vessels are transported on the Rhine. Source: Xinhua