Lock Repairs Completed, Mosel River Reopens to Shipping

The Mosel river in west Germany has been reopened to cargo shipping after repairs to a damaged lock were completed faster than expected, navigation authorities said.

The river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident which damaged a lock at Mueden south of Koblenz.

New lock gates have now been installed and the river was reopened to commercial shipping over the weekend, said inland navigation agency WSA. Repairs had initially been expected to last until the end of March.

The river had been closed for 55 days.

European rapeseed futures rose in December after trading platform Euronext said it will suspend physical delivery to river ports in eastern France for the February contract, following the blockage of the Mosel.

(Reuters)