Elba Dam: 70 ships waiting to continue | NDR.de – News

Starting from: 06.08.2019 08:21 hours

For four days, the traffic blocked the Elbe side channel at Lift Scharnebeck (Lüneburg district). This can not be resumed until the damage to the nearby Geesthacht Dam (District of the Duchy of Lauenburg) has been corrected and water is retained again. According to the authority of the waterways and navigation of Uelzen, it will probably be Wednesday. The consequences for the movement of goods are immense, lamented the European Association of Inland Navigation. Some ships could no longer reach the scheduled connections with the big freighters in Hamburg.

Damages for homeowners in the six-figure range

"This causes the transport company to lose a loss of sales of at least 200,000 euros a week," said shipowner Henning Jahn NDR 1 Niedersachsen. He is stuck on the cbad since the weekend and spends his time cleaning and painting. The barges accuse the authorities of having been aware of the problem of the dam since May. However, the authority of water and navigation disputes this.

Repair more expensive than expected

Damage to the Elb Dam was noticed on Friday afternoon. Since then, work is underway to fill the holes of the dam. Only Monday, 1,600 tons of sand and gravel should be installed. Much to repair at the dam, said Tilman Treber, director of the Waterway and Merchant Marine (WSA) Lauenburg at the NDR. Initially, it was said that the dam could be closed Monday, but the appointment was postponed to the middle of the week.

The water level of the Elbe decreases after the opening of the dam

Because of the damage has been drained since Friday by a dam opening water. "So that there is no more pressure on the dam," said Thilo Wachholz of the Directorate General of Inland Waterways and Navigation (GDWS) Hannover. In the upper basin between Geesthacht and Elbe up to Scharnebeck, the water level has dropped by about half a meter. Thus, the water level in Hohnstorf (Lüneburg district) dropped on Saturday evening from 421 to 382 centimeters.

Restrictions also on the Elbe-Lübeck cbad

The boat lift to Scharnebeck on the Elbe-Seiten-Kbad had to cease operations. From a reduction of more than 40 centimeters or less than four meters, the elevator could no longer function, he added. The closure of all the hinterland of the port of Hamburg is affected, as is the side channel of the Elbe in Lower Saxony, as well as the Elbe-Lübeck Cbad. The shipping is currently limited there. It must be driven with a reduced load, said a spokesman for Lauenburg NDR.de (WSA).