Authorities to attempt to reopen Mosel river in Germany to shipping
Shipping was stopped on the river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, after an accident involving a passenger vessel on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier.
Attempts are now starting to see if the lock can still be used for vessel transits on a limited scale after an initial assessment of damage, said a spokesperson for river navigation authority GDWS. The first test transits through the lock could be made over the weekend.
If this is not feasible, attempts are planned to reopen the lock with temporary water control barriers. But this would be a slower process than using the damaged lock, possibly with each ship needing around an hour to transit the lock.
About 50 inland waterways freighters are currently stranded on the river, called the Moselle in France.
First efforts will be concentrated on enabling the stranded ships to pass through the lock to reach their destinations. But the aim is to allow normal sailings to resume, the spokesperson said.
It is still not possible to say when the lock can be fully repaired.
A similar lock accident on the Mosel in December that halted shipping led futures exchange operator Euronext to suspend physical delivery to river ports in eastern France for its rapeseed futures.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Swiss flight makes emergency landing after smoke detected in cabin
Deutsche Lufthansa's Swiss International Airlines said on Monday that a Zurich-bound flight from Belgrade made an unscheduled landing in Friedrichshafen, Germany, because of light smoke in the rear section of the aircraft's cabin. The landing was 'uneventful', and buses are being arranged to transport passengers onward to Zurich, said Swiss, adding the cause of the incident with the Airbus A220 was under investigation.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Al Arabiya
More than 20 are injured, including one seriously, when bus flips over in northeastern Germany
A bus carrying travelers from Denmark to Austria skidded off a road in northern Germany and flipped over on Friday, injuring more than 20 people, including one seriously, police said. The bus, operated by Flixbus, left the Autobahn motorway in the pre-dawn hours on an exchange leading to the city of Röbel, about 140 kilometers (85 miles) north of Berlin, police said. The cause of the accident was under investigation. Twenty-three people were injured on the bus carrying 53 passengers and two drivers from Copenhagen to Vienna, according to Flixbus. Rescuers took about two hours to extract one seriously injured victim. Emergency services, the fire brigade, and a rescue helicopter responded. Authorities sealed off the area of the road throughout Friday morning. Flixbus expressed great dismay that the bus crashed and said it was working with authorities to determine the cause of the incident.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Authorities to attempt to reopen Mosel river in Germany to shipping
Attempts will be made on Friday and over the weekend to reopen the river Mosel in west Germany on a limited scale to inland waterways freight shipping after an accident with a vessel damaged a lock, navigation authorities said on Friday. Shipping was stopped on the river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, after an accident involving a passenger vessel on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier. Attempts are now starting to see if the lock can still be used for vessel transits on a limited scale after an initial assessment of damage, said a spokesperson for river navigation authority GDWS. The first test transits through the lock could be made over the weekend. If this is not feasible, attempts are planned to reopen the lock with temporary water control barriers. But this would be a slower process than using the damaged lock, possibly with each ship needing around an hour to transit the lock. About 50 inland waterways freighters are currently stranded on the river, called the Moselle in France. First efforts will be concentrated on enabling the stranded ships to pass through the lock to reach their destinations. But the aim is to allow normal sailings to resume, the spokesperson said. It is still not possible to say when the lock can be fully repaired. A similar lock accident on the Mosel in December that halted shipping led futures exchange operator Euronext to suspend physical delivery to river ports in eastern France for its rapeseed futures.
