This is the threat weighing on river traffic between France, Luxembourg and Germany after a barge seriously damaged a lock. Enough to disrupt transport and the border economy. Including the supply of gasoline…
It’s far from Müden… Near Koblenz in Germany, almost a hundred kilometers from Luxembourg. And yet theincident which occurred on a Moselle lockSunday afternoon, there will seriously disrupt river traffic here. In the Grand Duchy as in Lorraine for that matter. Already, because the boat will not come to unload the 1,500 tonnes of scrap metal with which its holds were filled at Port of Mertert.
But above all, this navigation accident will undoubtedly affect and hamper the traffic of other barges for a long time. The reconstruction of the damaged installation could paralyze traffic for a quarter…
Monday morning, a crisis unit met in Germany to try to assess the damage and check whether more rapid repairs were possible. We fear not… So there you have it Currently 70 barges finding themselves blocked near the crossroads of the Rhine and the Moselle or unable to go down towards France and Luxembourg.
Essential for fuels
But if the situation were to continue, it is an entire system of transport, exchange of goods and the economy of the border territory which risks being upset. Indeed, for just 60 years this year, the canalized Moselle has become a major “commercial highway” for freight. Both in terms of import-export of raw materialsof cereals what of raw materials (particularly fuel).
Thus, the Moselle represents the access route to 7% of the share of goods received in Luxembourg.
Thus, just for the port of Mertert, one year of activity sees the loading of 300 boats and the unloading of 500 more. That is to say nearly 1.07 million tonnes of goods transiting via the Moselle…
An essential crossing point, particularly for the fuel supply of Luxembourg. Last year, 377,000 tonnes of fuel thus arrived in the country by waterway. How can we deprive ourselves of such an arrival in the months to come?
Without forgetting that via the Moselle104,000 tonnes of steel products entered the country (in particular to supply the ovens ofArcelorMittal), 27,000 t of building materials12,200 t of agricultural products…And we are only talking about imports.
It is also via the river thatArcelor was also able exporter nearly 127,000 tonnes of steel products and another 119,000 tonnes of goods, cereals and containers were able to leave the Grand Duchy abroad. It will be necessary to find deferral solutions for the transport of these goods, with new deadlinesof new costs…
In 2023, 7 million tonnes of goods were transported on the river, thanks to the movements of 4,500 ships.
