Elbe closures cause problems for Czech skippers

The ongoing closures of the Elbe waterway due to bridge problems in Saxony are causing concern among Czech inland shipping companies. "It's a disaster for freight traffic on the water," says Lukas Hradsky from the shipping company EVD in Prague. Under normal circumstances, the winter would be peak season, as ships are often unable to sail in the summer due to low water levels. According to the entrepreneur, there are heavy and oversized shipments that cannot be transported by any other route.

"Inland shipping is planned for the long term," emphasizes Hradsky. It is therefore difficult to react to changes at short notice. Nevertheless, his company is trying to compensate for the losses with orders in Western Europe. Hradsky is also concerned about the image of the reliability of inland shipping among customers. Many of them are now switching to road transport, which is not a good development from an environmental point of view. Hradsky feels left alone by the governments: "My feeling is that they have other priorities."

Single ship crossings possible from the end of January?

Since the partial collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden in September, shipping traffic on the Elbe has been paused there. The reason for this is bridge debris lying in the water. According to earlier information, the authorities expect that individual ship crossings will be possible from the end of January. Another problem is the closure of the Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau since the beginning of November due to longitudinal cracks in the so-called lower span. Shipping traffic also had to be suspended in this area until further notice.

For the Czech Republic, the Elbe is the only waterway to a seaport. The country has therefore concluded an agreement with Germany on the maintenance and development of the international Elbe inland waterway. Overall, however, the share of inland waterway transport in freight transport in the Czech Republic is low. In 2023, only around 1.2 million tons were transported by water, according to data from the CSU statistics authority. Rail accounted for around 83 million tons and road for just under 434 million tons.