Passenger Vessel Collides with Lock on Germany's Mosel River, Halting 50 Cargo Ships

Freight transport along West Germany’s Mosel River has come to a standstill following damage to a lock caused by a passenger ship, as reported by authorities. This river, known as the Moselle in France, plays an essential role in transporting rapeseed and grain between the two countries.The disruption occurred at the Sankt Aldegund lock, located between Koblenz and Trier. According to a police spokesperson, vessels are currently unable to navigate through this lock in either direction. Experts were on-site Thursday for an assessment but could not determine how severe the damage is or how long shipping operations would be halted.

German federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder expressed his commitment to restoring functionality at the lock promptly. He emphasized that all necessary measures would be taken to expedite repairs.

interestingly, this isn’t the first time shipping on the Mosel has faced interruptions; back in December, another incident led to significant delays after a different lock near Mueden was damaged. That situation took until February for repairs before normal operations resumed.

Initial evaluations suggest that while there’s no visible harm to the concrete structure or drive mechanism of the current damaged lock—according to WSA head Eric Oehlmann—technicians are exploring options for limited operations so that some stranded vessels can move again soon.If full functionality cannot be restored quickly, emergency locks with temporary water control barriers may need implementation. However, this alternative would slow down transit times substantially; each vessel could take about an hour just for passage through these makeshift solutions.

Currently, around 50 freighters find themselves stuck on the Mosel River due to this unfortunate incident.

References: Reuters