Kiel Canal

 The Kiel Canal connects the North Sea (at Brunsbüttel) with the Baltic Sea (at Kiel-Holtenau) by means of a 98 kilometer waterway running through Germany’s state of Schleswig-Holstein.  For most voyages, it saves approximately 250 nautical miles, by avoiding the transit around the Jutland Peninsula.  The Canal was completed in 1895 after eight years construction.  It was built largely through the strong encouragement of the German Navy, which wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and North Seas without having to sail around Denmark.  For most of its length, the Canal is 162 meters wide at the shoreline and 90 meters wide at the bottom.  The water depth is 11 meters.  The generally-permitted dimensions for vessels transiting the Canal are: length – 235 meters; breadth – 32.5 meters; draft – 9.5 meters; and air draft – 40 meters.  The maximum speed of vessels during transit is eight (8) knots.  There are locks at either end of the Canal.  On average, 83 commercial vessels (up to Panamax size) transit the Canal every day.  The major limitation preventing modern commercial vessels from making further use of the Kiel Canal is its air draft under bridges crossing the Canal.  Some cruise ships have been designed to squeeze through.  The MS Norwegian Dream is fitted with special masts and funnels that can be lowered for passage.  The German sail training bark Gorch Fock was designed so that its topmasts can be lowered easily for transit of the Canal.  Prior to construction of the Kiel Canal, the North and Baltic Seas were connected by the Eider Canal (completed in 1784), but it was only 29 meters wide and had a depth of three meters.  Most vessels over 300 tons displacement were unable to utilize the old canal.