BRUNSBÜTTEL (dpa-AFX) - The Kiel Canal is expected to remain closed to shipping at least until Friday after the oil spill. According to conservative estimates, the canal will not be opened before 4 p.m. on Friday, said the head of the emergency command, Robby Renner, in Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein) on Thursday. This is also dependent on external factors such as wind direction and weather conditions, he said.
The artificial waterway "should not be released too soon, because something very valuable is at stake here," said Schleswig-Holstein's Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens). "It's about protecting our seas, the Wadden Sea." The oil must be prevented from reaching the Elbe or the North Sea, he said.
Three oil spill response vessels were operating in the channel throughout the night. "They're actually going through 24 hours and they're also already able to pick up very, very large parts of the oil water-wise," Renner said. "We have an oil spill that extends over six kilometers along the Kiel Canal." Based on aerial observations, the amount has been calculated at about twelve cubic meters, he said.
It is unclear so far how much oil has leaked in total after the leak in a pipeline on Wednesday in the port of Brunsbüttel, Renner said. According to initial findings, a low double-digit number of birds was affected, he said. After the incident became known, the traffic control center had closed the locks of the canal./akl/DP/stw
