The German Federal Minister of Transport formally inaugurated the first phase of the widening of the Kiel Canal. The work completed corresponds to the area between kilometers 80 and 85 of the waterway.
After five years of civil engineering and construction work, the Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA), responsible for the canal’s operation, completed a 4,000-meter section near the town of Düvelstein, according to Alphaliner.
The WSA invested around 130 million euros in straightening the canal and widening its base from 44 to 70 meters. “Especially in the hilly landscape surrounding the eastern sections of the canal, it had become too narrow and winding to safely accommodate the large seagoing vessels that transit it with increasing frequency,” the consultancy said.
“The entire eastern section, between Düvelstein and Kiel-Holtenau -where the Kiel Canal connects with the Baltic Sea- is 18 kilometers long. In the coming years, the WSA will invest another 370 million euros to widen these sections, allowing the passage of larger vessels,” it added.
Other major projects on the Kiel Canal include a new sea lock at the western end, valued at 1.2 billion euros, as well as the replacement of an aging road and rail bridge.
The Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee Kanal) is 98 kilometers long and connects the River Elbe and the North Sea in the west with the Baltic Sea in the east, allowing ships to avoid a 250-nautical-mile detour around the Jutland peninsula.
It can accommodate vessels with a Panamax beam (32.2 meters) and a length of up to 225 meters, although the draft is limited to 9.5 meters. Under realistic loading conditions, the canal can be used by container ships of up to 2,200 TEU.
The vast majority of vessels using it are feeder ships, with capacities ranging from 700 to 1,900 TEU.
