Due to a leak in a pipeline on 21 December, approximately 12,000 liters of crude oil ended up in the water at the Brunsbüttel lock, the entrance to the canal from the North Sea. The stain covered about four miles of the channel. Aerial images show that most of it has now been cleared.
“We have now absorbed most of the absorbable oil,” said an emergency services spokesman. The “thick layers” on the water would have already been removed.
Nevertheless, the channel remains closed for a second week in a row in order not to disrupt the clean-up services. About 120 employees and three special ships are said to be still engaged in the cleanup operation.
The Kieler or Kiel Canal is located in the north of Germany and is the busiest man-made waterway in the world.