BERLIN, August 15. /TASS/. Shipping on the Rhine has reached the brink of collapse due to low levels of water as the level dropped to 6 cm at one of the key monitoring stations, setting an all-time record low, the NTV channel reported.

Water levels near the town of Kaub are too low for even lightly loaded vessels to pass, according to the report. Prior to this summer, the lowest level recorded at Kaub was 25 cm observed in October 2018.

Water level readings from different measuring stations along the Rhine cannot be compared with one another as there is no unified zero datum. That said, the navigable channel is significantly deeper than the water level at the gauging station on the bank.

Low water levels in the Rhine, as well as in other European rivers, including the Danube, are linked to reduced precipitation over the past few months. Experts estimate that Germany could lose 0.1-0.2% of its GDP in the third quarter of this year due to reduced river shipping.