A shipping highway

A cargo ship navigates through the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The freighter left the North Sea and is making its way to the Baltic Sea via a short cut: the Kiel Canal. The nearly 100-kilometer-long (62-mile) canal saves time by avoiding going an extra several hundred kilometers around Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. But the canal's locks are in urgent need of modernization.

The idea of a shortcut between the two seas is 1,500 years old. The Vikings paddled across rivers and lakes, and even used oxen to pull their vessels over land for short stretches. The first waterway here for sea-going ships was constructed 230 years ago. The canal in its present form was inaugurated in 1895, and significantly widened over the following years.

A world record: more than 40,000 vessels pass through the canal every year. About 100 ships move 300,000 tons of goods per day - on the road, that would equal 15,000 trucks - per day. It's undisputed that using the canal is practical and convenient.

Even luxury cruise ships like the Norwegian Dream can pass through the Kiel Canal that links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to Kiel on the Baltic Sea. This ship measures 230 meters in length; it is 29 meters wide and ten stories high. Small locks will not do. The ocean liner must pass through one of the canal's four large locks - which turned into a problem in early March 2013.

In early March 2013, the two large lock chambers in Brunsbüttel failed. Vessels longer than 125 meters were not able to access the canal due to ramshackle lock gates. Experts used the first lock to store replacement parts while repairing the second lock within a span of eight days. The makeshift arrangement still holds.

The complete failure of the lock gates in Brunsbüttel alarmed politicians, while northern German trade associations and unions accused the government of delaying restoration of the canal. Now, a new lock is to be built in Brunsbüttel. It will take years to construct and cost several hundred million euros.

It will not be sufficient to simply erect a new lock (the photo shows the walls of a lock in Brunsbüttel.) Other measures are just as urgent, including deepening the shipping channel, renovating bridges across the Kiel Canal, and modernizing the other locks. Politicians warn that neglect could result in collapse on Germany's waterways.

Experts with Germany's Waterways and Shipping Administration continue to renovate the canal. Today, just like in the photo 13 years ago, they still use the Kiel Canal to freight concrete piles. The canal is an ideal means of transport for the 17-meter-long logs used to construct piers.

Much remains to be done to modernize the world's busiest artificial waterway. Schleswig-Holstein's transport minister has appealed to the federal government to draw up a master plan for thoroughly modernizing the Kiel Canal. The Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has also looked into the issue.