The Mosel in west Germany was partially reopened to cargo shipping on Monday after a temporary lock was installed over the weekend, but the number of vessels able to sail will be limited, navigation authorities said.
The river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, was closed to inland waterways shipping last week after an accident which damaged a lock at Mueden south of Koblenz and repairs are likely to last until spring 2025.
But a temporary lock was installed over the weekend and tested successfully, the German navigation agency WSA said. The first trapped ship transited the temporary lock system on Monday without problems and sailed towards the Rhine, the WSA said. The 80 metre long vessel was carrying malting barley, it said.
But only about five or six ships a day will be able to pass initially. Some 74 ships are blocked because of the damage, many operating for grain and rapeseed shipments to and from the French port of Metz.
European rapeseed futures rose last week after trading platform Euronext's said it will suspend physical delivery to river ports in eastern France for the February contract, following the blockage of the Mosel.