Overview
- On Thursday Transport Minister Steffen Bilger convened a crisis meeting in Bonn that produced a package of short-term options to keep goods moving by shifting freight to rail and road and easing operational rules.
- Officials reported record or near-record low gauges on the Rhine, Elbe and Danube that are forcing ships to carry far smaller loads at bottlenecks such as Kaub where draught fell to about 17–24 centimetres.
- Practical contingency measures discussed include asking states to allow limited Sunday driving for trucks, 24-hour lock operation, postponing maintenance works and creating buffer storage at ports to prevent immediate supply gaps.
- Industry groups pushed for accelerated pointwise deepening of the Rhine channel and faster funding and permitting, arguing rail and road lack spare capacity and costs for transport have already risen sharply.
- Environmental organisations warned the meeting focused narrowly on economic fixes and urged long-term, nature-based measures such as rewetting floodplains and reducing water extractions to restore landscape water storage.