First Ship Passes Carolabrücke in Dresden After Five Months

After almost five months of closure, the first cargo ship was able to pass the partially collapsed Carolabrücke in Dresden today. The convoy of the Czech shipping company EVD was loaded with a generator and fertilizers, which are being transported from the port of Lovosice to the port of Antwerp.

(Dresden) Following the partial collapse of the Carolabrücke in Dresden on September 11, 2024, no ships were able to pass the Elbe to and from the Czech Republic. As of today, passage for cargo shipping is possible again upon prior notification of the transport to the Waterways and Shipping Office.

The Czech shipping company EVD took advantage of the reopening of shipping to finally export goods via waterway from the Czech Republic again. The convoy, consisting of the cargo motor vessel DICK and the push barge DICK 1, was loaded in the SBO subsidiary port of Lovosice with a 221-ton generator and approximately 400 tons of fertilizers.

Challenging Weeks for the Ports

“The past weeks have been very challenging for our ports, especially for our Czech ports,” says SBO Managing Director Heiko Loroff. “We rely on a functional federal waterway, the Elbe. Therefore, we are pleased that cargo shipping is again possible in a limited capacity starting today, but we also demand the rapid restoration of unrestricted navigability.”

Photo: © SBO