Niedrigwasser: Frachtschiff schafft es wieder auf den Rhein
Die Trockenheit ist heftig, in den Flüssen ist sehr wenig Wasser. Das schränkt die Binnenschifffahrt stark ein – ein mit Kleintransportern beladenes Frachtschiff saß zuletzt fest.
Düsseldorf - Despite a five-day delay, the freight ship that became stranded on a sandbank due to low water levels has finally made it back to the Rhine. A spokesperson for logistics company Mosolf told dpa that the vessel has reached the Rhine and is now heading towards Rotterdam. The ship, which measures 135 meters in length, was initially stuck on a sandbank at the end of a harbor basin on Monday.
Despite attempts to free it using an anchor windlass and weight adjustments, the ship remained lodged. It was only able to break free thanks to the assistance of another freight ship that pressed against it during its own departure from the port. Some of the Sprinter trucks were unloaded to reduce the weight. As water levels began to rise after days of unusually low levels, the ship was granted permission to depart.
Mosolf criticized the port authority, claiming that insufficient excavation of the harbor allowed for insufficient water depth and that the weight of the trucks was not the main issue, as Sprinter trucks are relatively light cargo. The 160 trucks on board reduced the freight to 390 tons, which is well below the ship's maximum load capacity of 3500 tons.
After the ship was freed from the sandbank, an additional 50 Sprinter trucks were unloaded. With the recent rainfall, meteorologists predict mostly dry days ahead. The low water levels are causing economic hardship across the region.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
