New container ship knocks out Kiel Canal
Section of the Kiel canal put out of operation after JORK RELIANCE slams into lock




A container ship has damaged lock gates on the Kiel Canal so badly that the system has all but ground to a halt.

The JORK RELIANCE, a new container ship that was delivered from Damen Shipyards in March of this year, inexplicably collided with a lock gate yesterday and buckled it.

Ships have banked up on the canal and at entrances as the system  partly as a result of cutbacks to maintenance teams made recently, which means no emergency repair work could be carried out on a Sunday.

The ship herself suffered some damage but was able to continue on her way.

Authorities say no-one was injured in the incident and that investigations will be carried out today to see what repairs can be put into place.

The world`s busiest artificial waterway, the Kiel Canal, (known in Germany as the Nord Ostsee Kanal) runs for almost 100 km right through Schleswig-Holstein - from Brunsbüttel to Kiel-Holtenau - and links the North Sea with the Baltic.

The JORK RELIANCE was delivered in March of this year and was built by Damen Shipyards. She is managed by Reederei Becker of Jork, Germany.