Kiel Canal closed by collision

Screen grab from NDR1 video

OCTOBER 28, 2013 — Germany’s Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) was closed this morning following an early morning collision between the coastal tanker Siderfly and the gas tanker Coral Ivory.

The collision left the Siderfly immobile and listing at 30 degrees with two holes in the bow. The damage to the gas tanker is less severe and it is moored in Brunsbüttel.

Broadcaster NDR 1 says that the cause of the collision is unknown and that the canal is “completely blocked.”

The 98 km canal is the world’s busiest artificial waterway. It runs between Brunsbüttel on the North Sea side and Kiel-Holtenau on the Baltic side, with a link, at Oldenbüttel, to the River Eider via the short Gieselau Canal.