Closure of the Juliana Canal causes additional disruption to shipping in the Netherlands

The closure of the Juliana Canal starting Monday will cause a major disruption to shipping. For instance, ships that want to sail around the Zeeland Kreekrak locks must take into account waiting times of up to ten hours in the coming weeks.

The Kreekrak locks are located in the Scheldt-Rhine Canal, one of the busiest shipping routes in Europe. Until September 27, Rijkswaterstaat is carrying out major maintenance on the Zeeland lock complex. Only one lock chamber is available for passage. Ships that have to detour due to the closure of the Juliana Canal will, therefore, experience even more delays.

Ships that sail via Belgium will pass the Oosterweel connection, where work is also being carried out. It is possible to sail there, says Rijkswaterstaat. "So skippers will not be at a standstill. But that detour will certainly cause some extra traffic and therefore take up extra time."

Koninklijke Binnenvaart Nederland has already announced that it will suffer major damage due to the work. The trade association fears that water transport will become so expensive that alternative transport by road must be chosen. The Chemelot Industrial Estate, where large companies such as SABIC, OCI Nitrogen, Fibrant, and AnQore are located, also fears major damage. Chemelot has threatened to go to court. Wessem Port Services, responsible for a large part of the logistics in the port of Chemelot, has announced that road transport will be chosen more often in the coming months.

However, Royal Inland Shipping Netherlands says shifting from inland shipping to the road is impossible. "That would require at least 86,000 trucks for a month," says a spokeswoman. "Transport by water is considerably cheaper than by road and is also less taxing on equipment and personnel. A ship can take the cargo of 74 trucks."

The Juliana Canal in Limburg is being made deeper and wider so that larger ships can pass through. To allow shipping traffic to continue, a construction pit was constructed in part of the canal, but it filled up with water last year. This week, it was announced that work on the Juliana Canal will be much more expensive than originally planned. In total, the operation will cost almost a billion euros.