Low Rhine levels split freight route and block ships at Kaub

Low water levels on the Rhine have blocked freight ships from passing the bottleneck near Kaub since the summer, dividing the river’s freight route, SRF reports.

At the port of Birsfelden near Basel, the 110-metre cargo ship Spintore is being loaded with scrap metal bound for a customer in Kehl, where it will be used to make new steel. The trip from Basel to Kehl takes a day, and water levels pose no problem along that stretch.

But Thommen recycling company operations manager Tobias Maier says ships can no longer pass the Rhine near Kaub, close to the Loreley, or from Karlsruhe onward. Water levels are so low that even some empty ships cannot get through. Recent rainfall has not changed the situation, and Maier expects levels to remain low at least until the end of November. He said the situation should ease by spring at the latest, when snowmelt begins.

Thommen collects scrap metal across Switzerland, including old cars, broken refrigerators and discarded cables. At 10 locations, the material is dismantled, sorted and prepared for recycling. Magnets, X-ray equipment and laser technology help separate metals and remove other materials.

The company has about 900 employees, around 600 of them in Switzerland. The value of scrap varies widely: a tonne of copper brings in about 14,000 dollars, while a tonne of steel is worth between 500 and 1,000 dollars.