Disruption Halts Operations on North Baltic Canal: Severe Implications Ensue

Disruption Halts Operations on North Baltic Canal: Severe Implications Ensue

The Kiel Canal Slips into Silence for Three Days: A Standoff Over Wages

For three days, the Kiel Canal has been off-limits to ships. Since Monday evening, this heavily utilized artificial waterway hasn't accepted any vessels in Brunsbüttel or Holtenau amidst strike action by trade union Verdi. The financial fallout is steep, with millions at stake.

Verdi's strike action has crippled the Kiel Canal, leveraging this situation to push for better wages in the public sector. The quiet on this vital waterway leads to a substantial loss of income for pilots, canal pilots, and shipbrokers alike. The economic cost of this stoppage extends far beyond the borders of Schleswig-Holstein, with each day the canal remains closed causing a staggering "loss of prosperity" of over 1.5 million euros in Germany. This figure was derived from a 2021 study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW).

Pilots in a Pickle

"This strike is a blow to us," says Klaus Peter Molter, the chairman of the association of canal pilots. These experts guide large ships through the canal and, like the approximately 300 canal pilots of the two brotherhoods NOK I and II in Brunsbüttel and Kiel, as well as the employees of the ship chandlers and shipbrokers, they who are left waiting for the strike to conclude, just like the employees in these sectors. More than 3,000 jobs rely on the canal's well-being.

"Our clients aren't exactly thrilled with the situation," states Jan Klein, managing director of the brokerage UCA United Canal Agency. The disruption isn't just about lost income; it also contributes to increased CO2 emissions. "Seventy to eighty ships per day, now circumventing Skagen, will ignite their engines at high speed to adhere to their schedules," notes Klein.

One example of this is the shipping company Maersk Line from Copenhagen, whose container ship "Laura Maersk" sailed through the canal Monday afternoon as one of the final vessels on its journey from Bremerhaven to Fredericia. The return journey to Bremerhaven has been cancelled, with the ship now traveling from Gothenburg via Skagen instead.

Fewer Civil Servants, More Strikes

"The members' eagerness to strike is extremely high," says Frank Schischefsky of the trade union Verdi. Verdi has managed to shut down the canal with a minimal number of members due to a shift towards employing workers, as opposed to civil servants, in system-relevant areas of the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Nord-Ostsee-Kanal. This change offers Verdi more leverage.

This is also the case at the traffic control center in Brunsbüttel, where nautical officers monitor the canal. Previously, strike calls often fell on deaf ears here due to the predominance of civil servants amongst the staff.

Trade unionist Schischefsky also encourages Verdi members at brokers and canal pilots to join the strike in solidarity, which would make them eligible for strike pay. "Some colleagues might have been on strike already. However, the strike pay barely compensates for the losses we would experience in normal operating circumstances," says canal pilot Molter.

"The strike is unfortunately adding to the Kiel Canal's negative image during this challenging time," critiques Jens-Broder Knudsen of the initiative Kiel Canal.

Navy Steams through the Calm

Among the last ships moving through the canal on Tuesday night was the navy's corvette "Emden." This vessel gained notoriety following a sabotage attempt. It slipped into the canal in Brunsbüttel shortly after 8 p.m., as the second-to-last ship to pass through during this period.

The canal remains vacant to the naked eye, yet it is not entirely deserted. In Kiel and at the eastern end, dredging ships continue to navigate. The expansion work is well underway. "These ships don't require traffic management," says Jörg Brockmann, spokesperson for the Waterways and Shipping Office North-Ostsee-Kanal.

1. Despite the ongoing strike, environmental science is under pressure due to the increase in CO2 emissions as a result of ships having to bypass the Kiel Canal, causing an estimated 70 to 80 ships per day to ignite their engines at high speed to meet their schedules.
2. The industrial sector is facing consequences as well, with the closure of the Kiel Canal causing financial losses not only for pilots and shipbrokers, but also for ship chandlers, whose business relies on the successful operation of the canal.
3. The environmental-science field and the finance industry might also be affected in the long term due to the potential decreases in prosperity and economic activities that the closure of the Kiel Canal could cause.
4. In the field of public transit and transportation, the sudden halt in ship traffic through the Kiel Canal disrupts the normal supply chain and transportation routes, potentially leading to delays and changes in shipping schedules for companies like Maersk Line.

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