Castle tours on the Elbe: The White Fleet takes off!

Castle tours on the Elbe: The White Fleet takes off!

The “White Fleet” of Saxon steam shipping has good news for all lovers of the Elbe. With the water level rising, the popular castle trips between Dresden and Pillnitz are now back on the schedule. These trips had to be temporarily suspended due to low water, but the nautical director, Jochen Haubold, can now announce that the ships can safely navigate a shallower area near Laubegast. The castle tours last around three hours and take place up to four times a day. The water level of the Elbe is currently around 80 centimeters, which is a significant improvement compared to the critical values ​​of the last few weeks, when only 58 centimeters were measured at the beginning of July. That reports MDR.

A look back at the last few weeks shows that the Elbe, as the “blue vein of Saxony”, has actually suffered from long periods of drought and heat. Despite the current rise in water levels, the water level remains well below the annual average of 150 to 200 centimeters. The low water level has not only hindered shipping, but also has noticeable consequences for the environment and the various economic sectors in Saxony, such as Sächsische.de determines.

Low water and its consequences

The low water levels are not just a problem for leisure activities on the Elbe. According to the latest reports, the water level had dropped to 63 cm on July 13, and the historic record low of 21 cm was recorded in 1947. A new record of just 44 centimeters was recently measured in the port of Dömitz, which led to a massive disruption to transport. Freight shipping is particularly affected because it requires a water level of at least 1.40 meters, which has often not been achieved in recent years taz reported.

The increasingly unstable weather conditions are leading experts such as Felix Ekardt, a sustainability researcher and chairman of BUND Sachsen, to warn that climate change will increase low water periods on the Elbe. In fact, shipping in Germany has been recording a decline in transport volumes for years, which is due, among other things, to a reduced demand for coal due to the expansion of renewable energies. From 2019 to 2022, only around 174 million tons were transported by ship, a significant decrease from the 205 million tons previously.

• Niedrigster Wasserstand je in Dresden: 21 cm (12.08.1947)
• Aktueller Wasserstand (18.07.2025): 80 cm
• Normaler Wasserstand: 150-200 cm

In the hope of a change in politics, the BUND is calling for better investment in shipping infrastructure. Current plans include a new shipping container terminal in Riesa, which is estimated to cost 35 million euros. Critics, including Ekardt, are skeptical as to whether such a terminal makes sense when there has been no container transport across the Elbe since 2020. The challenges posed by climatic changes are great and shipping will definitely need new strategies to cope with the changing conditions.