The eastern section of the Kiel Canal (NOK) is currently being widened, as large ships cannot meet in this section in some areas, resulting in waiting times and sometimes damage to the banks.
Upgraded NOK eastern section. Graphic: WNA-NOK
Freighters are getting bigger and bigger and the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) is preparing the NOK for the shipping traffic of the future. On the stretch between Großkönigsförde (Rendsburg-Eckernförde district) and Kiel-Holtenau, the canal is being widened in several sections to a minimum bed width of 70 metres, including increasing the radii of tight bends.
Dredger "Peter The Great". Image: DEME-Group
The first section between Großkönigsförde and Schinkel - construction began in January 2020 - is currently being widened over a distance of four kilometres with the help of the dredger "Peter The Great". The embankment will then be completed.
Preparation of the embankment work. Graphic: WNA-NOK
The costs for this section amount to around 120 million euros. This section is scheduled to be opened to shipping next year, according to the Kiel Canal Waterway Authority (WNA NOK). The second section will follow with the widening of the canal between Landwehr and Altwittenbek.
The total costs for the expansion of the eastern section are expected to amount to 500 million euros. The water depth will not be adjusted for the time being, but such a deepening is currently being examined. The 55-year-old project manager has so far refused to commit to a completion date, but hopes that he will be able to finish "the thing" by the time he retires.
Background
The breakthrough canal, which was built from 1888 between the mouth of the Elbe near Brunsbüttel and the Kiel Fjord, is around 98 kilometres long, 67 metres wide and nine metres deep. At the beginning of the construction work, an army of diggers excavated the canal mainly by hand, as the dark peaty soil and loose sand often made it impossible for heavy machinery to get a grip. Opened in 1895 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal (NOK since 1948), it had to be widened for the first time between 1907 and 1914 due to the growing demands and dimensions of shipping. The following picture from 1913 shows work on the extensive expansion of the canal at the Holtenau locks.
NOK expansion of Holtenau lock in 1913, photo: Landesarchiv-SH
The artificial waterway saves ships the 460 kilometre longer sea route around Danish Jutland and the Skagerrak, but the increase in shipping traffic with growing ship sizes has led to higher stresses on the canal embankments, which is why the maximum speed in the canal has been reduced from 15 km/h to 12 km/h (around 6.5 knots) since 1 July 2023. Slow speeds that our former speedboat drivers struggled with.
NOK connects seas. Source: WSV
For this reason, an extensive adaptation and safety programme was carried out between 1965 and 2001: The western section from Brunsbüttel to the Königsförde siding was widened to a bed width of 90 metres. From Königsförde to the Kiel-Holtenau lock (canal kilometres 80-96), the cross-section was initially not widened due to the sufficient stability of the embankments. This section, which still has the dimensions of 1914, has developed into a bottleneck for today's shipping traffic.
Investments for the NOK. Graphic: WNA-NOK
The current investment measures are intended to secure the future viability of the NOK in the long term.
kdk
Source: ndr, WSV
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