The lift was built in Germany to replace an older one at the same location.
Niederfino, Germany:
Germany’s new boat lift could lower the weight of 50 blue whales on a stretch of canal between Poland and Berlin.
The powerful concrete lift – the country’s largest – is designed for large modern ships, and began welcoming ships for the first time on Wednesday.
The engineering feat in Niederfinow, East Germany, is 133 x 46 meters (145 x 50 yards) and 55 meters tall.
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said it was “taking inland waterway transport into the future”.
It takes a few minutes to hoist the boats to a height of 36 meters in a lift about 50 kilometers (31 mi) from Berlin – allowing them to travel smoothly from the Polish port of Szczecin to the German capital.
With its mesh of metal cables, the massive concrete structure rises against a backdrop of green areas by the Oder-Havel Canal in the state of Brandenburg.
The lift was built on the same site to replace an older one, which was commissioned in 1934, but is no longer large enough for modern maritime traffic.
tourist attractions
The new version is 30 meters longer than its predecessor and can carry almost twice the weight – the equivalent of “50 adult blue whales or 1,600 elephants”, Vissing said at the official opening on Tuesday.
Construction of the structure was not plain sailing, however – the process was delayed by eight years due to late deliveries, the bankruptcy of a supplier, a shortage of workers and the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media dubbed the project Maritime BER, a reference to Berlin’s long-delayed airport that finally opened in 2020.
The old structure was the tallest boat lift in the world when it was built.
That record has long been held down to a powerful lift at the Three Gorges Dam in China, which lifts boats up and down a distance of 113 metres.
Niederfinow’s old lift will continue to operate until 2025, and will remain as the main tourist attraction in the rural village of about 600 residents.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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