As unseasonably warm and dry conditions persist, container ships are no longer able to move in and out of Switzerland’s key port on the Rhine, in Basel.
Since Friday (Oct. 20), the port in northern Switzerland has been forced to suspend the movements of container ships due to persistent low water levels.
Heinz Amacker, head of the Danser Schweiz shipping company, told public broadcaster SRF that he had never seen such a situation before; all eight of his vessels remain docked and immobile.
According to SRF, which also reported on the growing problem some weeks ago, some 10% of all goods imported to Switzerland pass through the port of Basel. These goods will now have to be transported by rail or – more expensively – by road.
Read more on swissinfo.
