At the end of 2025, the people of Brunsbüttel spotted a whale – not a cetacean, but the “whale” floating crane, which lifted into place first the upper and then the lower carriage at the inland head of the 5th lock chamber where the Kiel Canal meets the Elbe estuary. This work paved the way for an operation in mid-December when the new sliding steel gate, which weighs around 2,000 tons, was floated with a pair of tugs and lowered onto the undercarriage. The gate was then coupled to the upper carriage and finally secured in position.
Precision, communication skills, and patience were the key to success – and the first sluice gate has now been installed!
Our client WNA Nord-Ostsee-Kanal and the entire project team are proud to have achieved this milestone on Europe’s largest hydraulic construction site, where WTM Engineers is responsible for supervising construction. The success of the high-precision operation to install the gate was also thanks in no small way to our JV partners IRS Stahlwasserbau Consulting AG and our subcontractor LPI Ingenieurgesellschaft mbh.
