Brief
The Wesel-Datteln Canal (WDK) is the busiest inland shipping canal in Germany, serving as a crucial transport route for industrial operations in the Ruhr area and as a transit route for the Port of Dortmund and the entire Dortmund-Ems Canal. Due to safety concerns, the niche bollards in the six large lock chambers of the WDK have been closed to shipping, as they can no longer safely withstand the required forces. Consequently, safe mooring was not possible in the past, leading to a regulation that vessels longer than 50 meters could only be locked through one at a time. This significantly reduced the capacity of the lock facilities and restricted navigation ease. Since December 3, 2018, a mooring service has been in operation, allowing ships to moor safely during locking in the large chambers of the WDK locks. This has lifted the previous regulation, enabling simultaneous locking and restoring the efficiency of the locks. The current contract for mooring services ends on August 29, 2025. Until that date, the niche bollards at the large locks of Friedrichsfeld, Hünxe, and Flaesheim will not be repaired, necessitating continued mooring services at these three locks. Mooring involves crew members of incoming ships handing over their lines, which are secured by mooring personnel to the appropriate mooring facilities (land or edge bollards) and released back to the crew after the locking process. Depending on the size of the ship and weather conditions, typically two lines per ship are to be handled. It is the responsibility of the ship's crew and the lock shift supervisor to determine the number of lines used for mooring. The mooring personnel must be physically capable of handling the lines, especially pulling them up to a height of up to 10 meters. The use of coupling wires as mooring lines has been prohibited by regulation, as it would significantly complicate the work of the mooring personnel. The establishment of the mooring service at the WDK has restored the original capacity and ease of navigation, while also addressing political pressure from associations and shipping operators. With the expiration of the existing contract on August 29, 2025, the mooring services are to be awarded until October 31, 2026. The awarding will be done in lots, with each lot corresponding to a lock chamber.
