Corinth Canal reopens after two years of inactivity

Corinth’s ship administration has reported that 200 successful canal crossings have occurred in the canal, with the number is expected to reach 6,500 by October.

“We have reopened with absolute security and are once again providing our customers with a fully updated and reliable service,” emphasized Georgios Zuglis, CEO of the Corinth Canal Company (AEDIK), continuing: “From Monday July 4th to Friday, the canal served about 200 various types of vessels, tourist or commercial, of which more than 20 are foreign. Presumably, from the first days of putting the channel into operation and until mid-October, from 6 to 6.5 thousand of its crossings by all types of vessels will be fulfilled.

At the same time, according to the plan, after the first quarter, the operation of the canal will be stopped again to start the second stage of restoration work.

According to the CEO:

“The problem we encountered was repeated landslides of the ground in late 2019 and early 2020, which forced us to close the channel and contact the relevant ministries to resolve this issue once and for all “.

Speaking about the progress of the work, Mr. Zuglis explains: “The solution that was given was a difficult and complex project to restore and strengthen the walls of the canal at the site of the landslides.

Vast volumes of soil were removed to prevent another collapse. Work is being carried out on a 1 km section in an area where 95% of landslides have occurred over the past 20 years. The second phase includes work to support the base of the slopes to prevent future soil erosion.”