Rhineland-Palatinate: 70 ships are caught on the Moselle after a lock accident | EUROtoday
The accident at a lock has extra far-reaching penalties than beforehand assumed. A ship drove into the gate with out braking and fully destroyed it. Now many boatmen, but in addition holidaymakers, are stranded.
Stranded boatmen, stranded vacationers and excessive prices for firms: the accident on the Müden lock within the Moselle has an immense affect on the area. And there isn’t a finish in sight.
On Sunday afternoon, a freight ship crashed into the decrease gate whereas coming into the Moselle lock, nearly with out braking. According to the Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA), each gate leaves have been fully torn from their anchorage within the accident. In addition, the hydraulic drive cylinders and the fastening have been massively broken.
According to investigators, the accident might have been attributable to a technical defect within the ship. “We are assuming this for now,” stated a spokesman for the water police in Koblenz. The ship’s grasp acknowledged that the trigger was a technical defect. This assertion nonetheless must be checked by an professional on web site, stated the police officer.
70 ships are caught
Experts now wish to study the harm induced intimately. To do that, the lock chamber should first be pumped empty, stated a spokesman for the WSA Mosel-Saar-Lahn in Koblenz.
At the identical time, the workplace is urgently searching for an answer to smuggle the caught ships into the underwater space of Müden in order that they will go away the Moselle in direction of the Rhine. It is assumed that round 70 ships have been unable to make any progress on the Moselle and Saar after the accident and have been primarily trapped.
Because of the closure, ships can not go away the river that runs by Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate in direction of the Rhine. What an answer for the ships might appear to be shall be mentioned on Wednesday. The ship’s masters have been subsequently requested to stay of their present berths. Around 15 of the ships are within the Saar.
Preparations to evaluate the harm are underway
In order to evaluate the harm, particular seals should first be put in on the lock gate to seal it throughout the day in preparation for draining the lock chamber. “Then you can see what damage is underwater,” stated the WSA spokesman. It will then be decided how the gate leaves, every weighing as much as 40 tons, may be lifted out.
According to an preliminary evaluation, it was assumed that the closure would final till the top of March 2025. For the gate leaves, it’s presently being examined whether or not a substitute gate that’s saved elsewhere may be ready and used – however even then it might take as much as two months till site visitors is free once more.
The Moselle is taken into account an vital transport route for transport within the area. According to the WSA, round 8.1 million tons of products have been transported by the Münden lock this 12 months. Around 600 vessels from massive transport vessels have been handed by the lock in 2024.
Millions in further prices
The managing director of the Port of Trier, Volker Klassen, referred to as for the lock to be repaired extra shortly. With three to 4 months of downtime, you are speaking about two to 2 and a half tons of products that now must be moved in a different way. It can also be about uncooked supplies for metal manufacturing in Saarland and Luxembourg in addition to completed metal merchandise. People are actually making ready for the truth that items will now must be transferred to rail and highway.
Take Liqui Moly, for instance: According to a spokesman, the corporate expects round 1,000 further tank truck hundreds to be wanted to get the uncooked supplies to their vacation spot. The lubricant producer usually receives round 2,200 tons of uncooked supplies through ship each week. On Monday, the extra prices have been roughly estimated at 500,000 euros. Meanwhile, concrete calculations have been carried out: “The additional costs will be one million euros,” stated the spokesman.
The port of Trier can accommodate as much as 15 ships in a flood-safe method, stated Klassen. He has already had just a few inquiries from river cruisers who wish to moor with him. The Moselle itself gives a number of locations the place ships might dock. The ships should all the time be manned. “It’s not like a car that you park somewhere.”
For years there have been requires all ten German locks on the Moselle to be expanded with second chambers. “Because otherwise we would have the bottleneck we have now,” stated Klassen. So far there may be solely a second lock chamber on the Trier, Zeltingen and Fankel barrages.
Holidaymakers are additionally caught
The accident on the Müden lock additionally slowed down river cruise ships. A ship with 170 holidaymakers is presently in Cochem, as a spokeswoman for Phoenix-Reisen in Bonn stated. From there, the friends shall be taken by bus tomorrow, Wednesday, to the unique vacation spot of the journey – Cologne. The friends confirmed understanding for the state of affairs. “We can’t change it,” stated the spokeswoman in Bonn.
A spokeswoman for Mosellandtouristik GmbH was additionally optimistic. “The peak tourist season in the Mosel-Saar region is from April to the end of October,” she stated. Easter historically marks the beginning of tour boat journeys. In 2025 this is not going to be till April. “We therefore assume that the damage will be repaired by the start of the main tourist season and that excursion boat trips can take place as usual in the 2025 season.”
dpa/us
https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article254826220/Rheinland-Pfalz-70-Schiffe-haengen-nach-Schleusen-Unfall-auf-der-Mosel-fest.html