Shipping will certainly have problems until Sunday morning at the Nieuwe Waterweg in the port of Rotterdam. Rijkswaterstaat reports that ships are not allowed passage until at least 07:00 due to an error during tunnel work.
Something went wrong during the installation of the first tunnel section for the new Maasdelta tunnel. Actually, the waterway should have opened on Saturday morning.
The first part of the Maasdelta tunnel is now in the right location. But due to leakage at the so-called bulkhead, to which the second tunnel section must be connected in two weeks, a short circuit has occurred and the pumps are not working. Rijkswaterstaat is currently working on a solution with the BAAK construction consortium.
This is done by installing extra pipes and extra pumps so that the water can be pumped out of the tunnel section. “Divers are working hard to close the leak. They have already been able to close part of the leak, but we need more time,” Rijkswaterstaat said via Twitter.
Possible additional costs for some companies
Entrepreneurs association evofenedex, which represents the trade interests and logistics interests of thousands of companies in the Netherlands, has “no indications yet that there is great panic” among shippers.
A spokesperson points out that it is usually quieter in transport during the weekend. But she cannot rule out the possibility that some individual companies will incur additional costs if, for example, certain cargo arrives at its destination later.
The Maasdelta tunnel under construction is part of the Blankenburg connection. From 2024, it must connect the A20 motorway near Vlaardingen with the A15 near Rozenburg. The tunnel sections are 185 and 205 meters long. According to the Port of Rotterdam Authority, tunnel sections of this size have never been built and sunk in the Netherlands before.