Ship has rammed a lock gate on the Kiel Canal in Schleswig-Holstein

A cargo ship has rammed a lock gate on the Kiel Canal in Schleswig-Holstein and put the lock chamber out of operation. No one was injured in the incident during the night, according to a spokesman for the water police. The inland gate of the large north chamber was so badly deformed on impact that it can no longer be used. It was not initially known how long the repairs would take. The Kiel Canal is the busiest artificial sea route in the world.

According to the police, a freighter flying the Cypriot flag was the second ship to enter the lock chamber on its journey from Hamburg to Klaipeda in Lithuania. The engine stopped and the ship rammed into the closed lock gate. The gate had been pushed in about 2 meters deep over a width of 8 to 10 meters. The freighter probably only sustained minor damage to the bow.