Record-Low Rhine Briefly Strands Dutch Cruise Ship Near Cologne
German river police said another vessel assisted Dutch Melody, which carries up to 140 passengers and was built in 1999 as River Melody, enabling it to continue downstream.
The Rhine fell to a record low of 6.10 metres at Lobith on the Dutch-German border on Sunday, as drought disrupted river traffic. Further upstream, falling water left a Dutch river cruise ship stuck in mid-river at Cologne.
The Lobith reading was below the previous low of 6.12 metres set in August. Water flow where the Rhine enters the Netherlands also fell below 600 cubic metres per second for the first time on record. The readings at Lobith measure water elevation against the Dutch NAP reference level, approximately mean sea level, and do not represent the depth available for navigation.
German river police said another vessel assisted Dutch Melody, enabling it to continue downstream. The Cologne gauge had fallen to just 40 centimetres, leaving approximately 1.5 metres of navigable depth.
Operated by Dutch Cruise Line, the four-deck ship has capacity for 140 passengers. The 110-metre vessel was built in 1999 under the name River Melody.
Dutch water authorities have restricted traffic as the summer drought has narrowed and shallowed shipping channels. On the IJssel, vessels travelling from Arnhem to Zutphen face a 300-kilometre diversion after Rijkswaterstaat, which manages the national waterway network, introduced a one-way system.
Some cross-river ferry services have been cancelled. River cruise operators have also cancelled sailings or cut itineraries because parts of the Rhine have become impassable.
Dutch Melody is scheduled to reach Nijmegen later on Monday. Low rainfall in the Alps is expected to push river levels lower during the week, with no fresh rain forecast in the coming days.
