Australia 'exposed' as Europe's most important trade river dries up
While the eyes of the world remain fixed on geopolitically charged blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, a bottleneck has been choking another of the globe's critical shipping routes.
The Rhine River, once known as the "highway of kings" due to its importance in trade across six European nations, is now drying up and threatening global trade. In August, record-breaking heatwaves and drought caused water levels to plummet so low that the southern section of the river was closed to boat traffic, stranding thousands of tons of cargo.
This crisis has forced freight businesses, many of them small and family-run, to suffer significant financial losses. The German government has allowed trucks to transport stranded freight by road, but this solution is less efficient and more environmentally damaging. The Rhine transports 285 million tonnes of freight annually to and from the port of Rotterdam, accounting for about 30% of the major trade hub's freight.
Australia, which exports about $23 billion in value to Germany, may also be affected by frequent closures of the Rhine. Experts warn that prolonged disruptions to navigability could have severe economic consequences and impact global trade.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
