en.Wedoany.com Reported - German Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing announced that the transport ministry will advance a funding program for inland vessels capable of navigating low-water conditions, supporting shipping companies in expanding their fleets with vessels that can maintain transport capacity during periods of low river levels, thereby reducing the impact of extreme low-water events on inland logistics.

The program was proposed following a low-water symposium convened by the German transport ministry with representatives from the shipping, port, and industrial sectors. Persistently low river levels have constrained the loading capacity of inland cargo vessels, forcing them to reduce cargo per trip and increase voyage frequency, which in turn has affected raw material transport and logistics costs for some industrial enterprises.

Funding priorities are expected to include the construction of new shallow-draft vessels as well as retrofitting existing cargo ships in terms of hull structure, propulsion systems, and hydrodynamic performance. Germany's existing "Sustainable Modernization of Inland Vessels" program has already included improvements to low-water operational capability within its scope of support, and the new arrangement will further expand the size of the low-water navigable fleet.

The German transport ministry also plans to update the "Rhine Low-Water Action Plan" issued in 2018 and the "Master Plan for Inland Navigation" published in 2019, while advancing the remediation of bottlenecks on key waterways. At present, the new funding program has not yet disclosed its budget, subsidy criteria, or application window, and remains in the policy refinement stage.