Kiel Canal: Annual balance 2025 - again less traffic due to Russia's war

In 2025, the Kiel Canal once again saw a decline in traffic figures: a total of 69.4 million tonnes of cargo were transported by 22,262 ships between Brunsbüttel and Kiel. This compares to 75.6 million tonnes on 24,866 ships in 2024, compared to 83.5 million tonnes and 28,797 passages in 2019.

In the opinion of the responsible Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the economic sanctions already in place against Russia played a major role in this. In this area, the tonnage transported via the NOK fell from 14.2 million cargo tonnes in 2021 to just 1.8 million last year.

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Global crisis and old infrastructure

In addition, increasing global economic and political uncertainty is also having an impact on global transport routes and goods flows - and therefore also on the Kiel Canal. For example, due to the increased price of fuel to power ships.

At the same time, the Kiel Canal is struggling with an increasingly deteriorating infrastructure, which is largely due to the age of the waterway and its hydraulic engineering facilities. Among other things, this has led to longer passage times and reduced the attractiveness of the shortcut. With investments in the three-digit million euro range (2025: 246 million euros), the federal government wants to take countermeasures and make the canal fit for the future.

Also with a minus in recreational shipping

There are also signs of a decline in the number of pleasure craft - although it is significantly lower than for large vessels: while the number has generally remained stable in recent years at around 12,000 passages (2024: 11,542), 10,685 were counted last year.