Carola bridge fairway reopens – with limitations
After almost five months of blockage the first cargo ship once again passed through the Carola bridge fairway in Dresden (Germany). A generator and fertiliser were on board a Czech company’s tug and barge combination, consisting of a motor cargo vessel and the pushed barge.
Ships couldn’t pass along the Elbe to and from Czechia after the bridge partially collapsed on 11 September 2024. Heiko Loroff, managing director for Saxony’s inland ports on the Upper Elbe river, said that the past weeks were challenging, as “we depend on an efficient Elbe waterway.”
Cargo ships can now pass again, as long as they notify the waterway and shipping authorities first. The waterway could be closed again soon, however, as problems with the lifting mechanism of the bridge remain unsolved. It is in “acute danger of collapsing,” according to the port of Hamburg. (js)