Kiel Canal

Overview

An engineering masterpiece and an ongoing project. The Kiel Canal in Germany is the busiest artificial waterway in the world. However, the canal requires costly maintenance. Canal infrastructure is a recurring theme. As with roads, bridges, and railways, significant cuts are being made to waterways as well. However, the Kiel Canal offers decisive advantages for freight transport: each container that passes through it replaces a long truck journey. This saves fuel and improves the CO₂ balance of freight transport. Between 25,000 and 30,000 ships transit this artificial waterway each year, which runs between the port cities of Kiel and Brunsbüttel and connects the Baltic Sea with the North Sea. However, the Kiel Canal, opened in 1895 and nearly 100 kilometers long, is also a constant undertaking.