First cargo ship in months passes Dresden

After almost five months, the Elbe in Saxony is once again navigable for commercial vessels under certain rules. A convoy of cargo ships loaded with a generator and fertilizer from the Czech port of Lovosice passed the partially collapsed Carola Bridge in Dresden on Monday morning on its way to Antwerp in Belgium. At 12.00 noon, the 135-metre-long convoy consisting of the motor cargo vessel "Dick" and the pushed barge "Dick 1" passed the Dresden Elbe crossing without any problems. They were carrying a generator weighing around 221 tons and around 300 to 500 tons of fertilizer, a very urgent transport.

For Sächsische Binnenhäfen Oberelbe GmbH and its partners upstream on the Elbe in the Czech Republic, this marks the end of a forced break with "dramatic consequences" for the economic situation, as Managing Director Heiko Loroff said. "We have lost a high six-figure sum in turnover." From September to April is actually the peak period, "that's when we have the highest density of ships and transport the highest volumes of goods on the Elbe".

Passage initially possible with advance notice

The shipping channel has been clear since the end of last week and passage under the partially collapsed Carola Bridge is possible - up to and including February 17 with advance notice and then in one direction at a time. During the first three weeks, data will be collected on the condition of the bridge under traffic. Passage upstream of the dilapidated Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau, which has been closed since November 2024, is already possible on request.

On the night of 11 September 2024, the western traffic section of the Carola Bridge collapsed unexpectedly over a length of around 100 meters. Since then, the two remaining trains of the pre-stressed reinforced concrete structure from the GDR era have been closed and shipping has also been interrupted. The White Fleet operated downstream and upstream from the closed section with limited capacity, while inland waterway shipping was suspended. Demolition of the affected bridge section has been underway for weeks.