Status: 12/22/2022 1:06 p.m
The Kiel Canal is still closed to shipping after the oil spill. Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt was there at noon.
After the oil spilled from the Kiel Canal (NOK) near Brunsbüttel (Dithmarschen district), birds smeared with oil have already appeared. This was announced by Schleswig-Holstein’s Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) during a site visit at noon today. “The situation is serious. There is oil in the water. There is too much oil in the water. The emergency services are working hard and dedicated. I am really very grateful for that,” he said.
THW and oil spill response ships on site
On Thursday night, the multi-purpose ship “Neuwerk” crossed the NOK with the cleaning apparatus extended to pick up the oil.
According to the police, the canal is still closed to shipping. According to evaluations of aerial photographs, a quantity of around twelve tons of contaminated water is now assumed, said the spokesman for the emergency command, Benedikt Spangardt. Three oil spill response ships have been in action on the NOK since the night: the “Neuwerk”, the “Scharhörn” and the “Knechtsand”, he said. “We have already picked up a lot of oil. And there are numerous helpers on the bank, especially from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, who are picking up the washed-up oil.”
Locks closed until Friday?
Ships have been backing up in front of the locks since Wednesday. According to the CCME, 23 ships are waiting in front of the Brunsbüttel locks, 21 in front of the Kiel locks and six ships in the canal to continue their journey as soon as possible. The ship steering of the NOK informs all shipping companies and the captains about the current status. He assumes that the locks will not be released before Friday afternoon, said Benedikt Spangardt.
100 volunteers remove contaminated soil
THW emergency services also remove oil from NOK.
Work is also continuing on land. There, a good 100 volunteer members of the fire brigade and technical relief organization (THW) are busy removing the contaminated soil.
Temporarily increased risk of explosion
A kilometer-long oil slick near Brunsbüttel (Dithmarschen district) was discovered on Wednesday. In order to prevent the oil film from spreading further, the NOK traffic center had the locks closed on Wednesday morning, according to the emergency command. Such a situation is therefore not without danger: Crude oil is very volatile and outgasses quickly. As a result, there was at times an increased risk of explosion in the immediate vicinity of the leak, as measurements by the CCME showed.
Rescuers discover a leak in a pipeline
On Wednesday afternoon, emergency services discovered damage to a crude oil pipeline on land. The flow of oil could be stopped. In order to seal the leak completely, the oil-soaked soil still has to be removed.
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