Kiel Canal closes as locks finally give out

The closure is the first of its kind in the history on the 100km long canal, which connects the North Sea and the Baltic. Nearly 35,000 ships of 166 million grt carried 100 million tons of cargo through it last year.

Gates 1 and 6 on the two main locks in Brunsbuettel are no longer capable of operation because of the state of their worn wooden tracks. They have to be removed and repaired and this will take two weeks up to Easter. Compounding the problems, one of two remaining small locks is also out of action because of hydraulic problems.

One small lock remains available for ships up to 125m length and 20.5m width drawing maximum 6.5m. However two thirds of the 95 ships using the Canal daily are bigger than that – some as long as 235m. They carry two thirds of the total cargo on the canal and will now have to detour around Skagerrak. Worst hit are Baltic-max container feeder ships of 130-150m serving Hamburg and Bremerhaven.

Canal officials have long warned of the ruinous state of locks and of the urgent need for general waterway improvements as ships increase in size. Only recently have repairs been undertaken in Brunsbuettel and plans approved for improvements on the Canal itself and to locks in Kiel at the other end of the canal.

In April last year the first sod was turned for a new fifth lock in Brunsbuettel to ease the pressure, but little has happened since then and the €300 million cost of Lock 5 has meanwhile risen to €360 million while the completion date is now 2020 instead of 2018.