Kiel Canal affected by strike: The locks in Holtenau and Brunsbüttel will remain closed on March 24 and 27, 2023. No ships are introduced on Friday and Monday.
Significantly fewer ships than usual will pass through the Kiel Canal this Friday and also on Monday. Or rather, almost no ships at all, because there will be a strike on March 24, 2023 and March 27, 2023, which will also affect the canal locks and canal ferries. At the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Nord-Ostsee-Kanal (Waterways and Shipping Office for the Kiel Canal), the employees will follow the call of the Verdi union and go on strike on these two days. The consequences are far-reaching, because the WSA Kiel Canal is responsible for practically everything that has to do with the Kiel Canal. And this does not include the operation of the lock systems in Brunsbüttel and Kiel-Holtenau, but also the operation of the canal ferries, the maintenance of all tunnels crossing the canal (Rendsburg canal tunnel) and the maintenance of several bridges, including the Alte Levensauer Hochbrücke (old Levensau high bridge) and the Eisenbahnhochbrücke Rendsburg (Rendsburg railway bridge) .
No lock operation from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m
On the two strike days, March 24, 2023 and March 27, 2023, no ships will enter the locks in Holtenau and Brunsbüttel between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The size of the ships does not matter and the strike also affects sailing and sports boats. However, ships that were locked in before the strike and are already in the canal will also be locked out again when they reach the lock system. However, this does not apply to sports boats that are launched from one of the numerous winter storage facilities along the canal and want to leave the Kiel Canal through the lock.
Kiel Canal Lock system in Kiel
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