Pumping out of the cargo to start on Tuesday

The lower water level of the Rhine now makes it possible to perform drilling on Tank 2 and thus to transfer the acid from this tank, too, into a waiting tank vessel later on.

Tank 1 remains inaccessible for drilling due to the position of the wrecked vessel and the present water level. A solution is still being worked on. At present the plan is to empty Tank 1 at the same time as the motor tank vessel “Waldhof” is lifted and removed from the navigation channel.

If this procedure is followed, it will mean that the highways on both sides of the Rhine and the rail track on the right bank will again be closed for some periods of time.

Intensive work is still in progress on Tanks 3 to 7. Here it is planned today (Monday) to cut larger openings in the tanks in order for the cargo to be pumped out / transferred. If work proceeds according to schedule, Tanks 6 and 7 are planned to be emptied tomorrow (Tuesday).

Upstream from the accident site, more than 450 vessels are now waiting to pass downstream.

For Tuesday, 01.02.2011 no further closures of roads, railways or the upstream passage are foreseen at present. The downstream passage still remains closed for safety reasons.