Mosel River In Germany Closed To Shipping For Months After Lock Accident, Several Ships Stuck

Mosel River in western Germany, a vital route for shipments of rapeseed and grain has been closed after an accident damaged a lock gate. It happened when a ship sailing to Mertert harbour hit the lock gate on the river.

The lock at Mueden south of Koblenz suffered damages and repairs will last till spring of 2025, around March end and till then ships cannot pass along the Mosel from Luxembourg and Trier to Koblenz.

Per the German Waterways and Shipping Authority, 70 vessels are stuck on the river as a result of the blockage and cannot leave Luxembourg, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate towards the Rhine.

The lock gate was in motion when the accident happened and both the wings were torn from their anchoring due to the impact of the collision. Both parts will need to be replaced entirely, per authorities.

The ship was loaded with scrap metal and fortunately, nobody onboard suffered from injuries though the hydraulic fluid spilled into the river Mosel.

The ships in Luxembourg and France will be stuck for months, per Luxembourg’s Department of Inland Navigation in Grevenmacher.

The river Mosel is a one-way street for ships. At Neuves-Maison in Lorraine, there is a connection to the Canal des Vosges that flows into the Saone but it is quite narrow for massive cargo vessels.

Officials in charge at Luxport are trying to analyse the situation and operations manager Charles Olinger said that Mertert Port has a trimodal design which means loading from and onto lorries and rail is carried out in parallel to the ship. They are planning to relocate the capacities, he added.

Most cargo from barges can be repacked onto lorries or rail but in the case of ArcelorMittal and scrap metal, the material cannot be reloaded. The next steps will be discussed with the steel producer in a meeting.

References: Reuters, Luxtimes

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