Bottlenecks are still occurring at the lock facilities on the Kiel Canal. As the Brunsbüttel Waterways and Shipping Authority announced yesterday, the closure of the Great (New) South Lock in Brunsbüttel will be extended until 2 August 2019. Originally, the closure for extensive maintenance work on the south side of Gate 4 was only scheduled to last until 14 June.
The Great South Lock is now still not available for shipping during daytime working hours (Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to around 4 p.m.). BfS 25/19 states the following:
"As the exact scope of repairs could only be determined after the removal of the old contactor rails in the drained circulation 10 (gate 4 south side), the construction period of the measure must be extended until the above-mentioned date."
In Kiel-Holtenau, the two chambers of the large south lock are currently being serviced one after the other for eight weeks each, meaning that only one chamber can be used for weeks at a time. The dates are:
North chamber: 23 April to 14 June 2019
South chamber: 5 August to 27 September 2019
The Kiel-Holtenau Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA) has commented on the work:
"We are dredging in the area of the inland harbour on the approach to the large lock. The water depths in this area are no longer sufficient. We clean the lock (also under water) and carry out a structural inspection. Fouling on the lock walls is removed. Dredging work is therefore also carried out in the lock chamber. We repair damage found during the last inspections (e.g. the rails on which the lock gate travels are repaired). The last structural inspection took place in 2017 for a special reason. The substance of the solid structure of the Great Lock was analysed. Numerous drill cores were taken and various other tasks completed. Lock maintenance in 2019 is necessary to ensure that the lock remains available as planned. This involves the regular inspection closures (2 x 8 weeks). This is the only way to be able to inspect all parts. The inspection closures are of course also used to carry out preventive construction measures. This helps to maintain the operational safety of our plant, which is over 100 years old."
