From its mouth into the River Rhine to kilometre 41.6 (at the Zornige Ameise restaurant in Essen-Rellinghausen), the Ruhr is navigable for ships with machine drives. Up to kilometre 12.208 (at the Schlossbrücke bridge in Mülheim), the Ruhr has been developed into a federal waterway suitable also for professional shipping (Rhine-Ruhr Harbour in Mülheim). From there on until the river is no longer navigable, the Ruhr turns into a state waterway with a shipping season from April 15 to October 15. Outside this season, the fairway marks are being pulled in due to the possibility of floods and any shipping occurs at one’s one risk.
The state waterway is navigable for ships with a draught of up to 1.7 metres, a length of up to 38 metres and a width of up to 5.20 metres.
During the summer months, a variety of passenger ships offer cruises on the Ruhr, the impounding lakes and the reservoirs.