The Mosel River in western Germany is expected to reopen to cargo shipping later this week as repair work on a damaged lock progresses rapidly, navigation authorities announced on Monday.

An essential transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, the river has been closed to inland shipping since December. The closure followed an accident that caused significant damage to a lock at Mueden, located south of Koblenz.

According to a spokesperson for the inland navigation agency WSA, new lock gates have been installed and are now being prepared for testing. The first trial transits with vessels are scheduled for Thursday or Friday.

“If everything proceeds smoothly, the river could reopen to commercial shipping as early as Friday or Saturday,” the spokesperson added.

The blockage of the Mosel had a notable impact on European markets. In December, rapeseed futures saw a rise after trading platform Euronext announced it would suspend physical deliveries to river ports in eastern France for the February contract due to the disruption. Photo by Holger Weinandt, Wikimedia commons.