NOK authorities announced that, with effect by this March 6th night, the Kiel Canal will be closed for all vessels exceeding 700 TEUs.
The two big Brunsbüttel locks cannot be moved any longer. The emergency repairs will be ready in 2-3 weeks.
This type of ships will be forced to circumnavigate Denmark to reach the ports of the Baltic Sea with a considerable increase in the transit time, making reprogram and manage all departures of ships and their connections in the various ports of transshipment.
The closing of the channel implies a need to reorganize emergency management in the arrival and departure of the ship deadline, impacting with additional costs due to higher fuel consumption arising from the greater number of hours of navigation that inevitably will be reversed in the amount of € 20 / TEUs of cargo with immediate effect.
IFA is managing the critical considering with its customers transport alternatives to avoid the congestion which will be created on the Baltic route to not impact on the timing for the delivery of their products to the final customers.