Rhine–Herne Canal

Transportation canal in Germany

The Rhine–Herne Canal (Rhein Herne Kanal) is a transportation canal in the Ruhr area of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, with five canal locks. The canal was built over a period of eight years (5 April 1906 – 14 July 1914) and connects the harbour in Duisburg on the Rhine with the Dortmund Ems Canal near Henrichenburg , following the valley of the Emscher. It was widened in the 1980s. The Rhein Herne canal ship was designed specifically for this canal; normally of about 1300–1350 ton capacity, it has a maximum draft of , a length of approximately , and maximum beam of
Originally the Rhine Herne canal ended in Herne, where it met a branch of the Dortmund Ems Kanal running from Henrichenburg to Herne, the intersection situated just above the East Herne lock. After the closure of the last part of the Henrichenburg to Herne canal, the Henrichenburg Herne section of the Dortmund Ems was added to the Rhein Herne Canal.

The distribution of water in the canal is realised through five pump stations. Located at Duisburg Meiderich, Oberhausen, Gelsenkirchen, Wanne Eickel and East Herne, they pump water from the Rhine into the canal at each stage. As well as this, water from the Lippe river to the east is brought in through the Datteln Hamm Canal.

In 1980 the current sluicegate was completed, including a under gate and control platform, which has now become a visible yellow landmark in the Ruhr landscape. The intended harbour of the old lock is today underwater and part of the foundations of the canal walls. This harbour was meant to be a possible spot for the eventual significant reconstruction of the lock, but it was never used for this purpose. A possible reconstruction of the sluice gate was commissioned in 1914 with the canal opening. Instead of the old sluice of in length and in breadth a new sluice chamber with a usable length of and a breadth of were commissioned, so that bigger ships with lighters (barges) as specified in Euro class II can pass through the sluice gates.

The canal begins in Duisburg along with the Schifffahrtskanal; connected to land by three bays of the Kanalhafen, and to the rest of the world via the Rhine. The Rhine–Herne Canal headquarters is in the Meiderich district of Duisburg, it serves as the water and shipping management canal and its locks from Essen to Herne. From here maintenance and repair work are organised and performed.

The Oberhausen marina is a yacht port opened in 2004 in close proximity to the CentrO shopping centre. The port has a water depth of and over 13 bridges. Also at the Oberhausen marina are the attractions Sealife Oberhausen and Oberhausen Modellbahn World.

The Stadthafen Essen (City port of Essen) is the youngest port on the Rhine–Herne Canal opened in 1934 by the city of Essen, and operated since 1987 by Stadtwerke Essen. The port consists of a doubled sided canal side quay together with a harbour port at right angles onto the canal, which together form a water area of with associated dock land of The dock handles bulk goods such as solid mineral fuels, petroleum and chemical products, stone, earth and iron and steel as well as recyclable materials, and is an important transhipment point.

The port of the city of Gelsenkirchen (Stadthafen Gelsenkirchen) was opened in July 1914 and is the oldest port on the Rhine–Herne Canal. The port has two docks branched from the canal situated just east of the lock at Gelsenkirchen and has a water surface of The industrial port is ~ and the trading port ~. A private railway of length is operated which is linked to the tracks of the Deutsche Bahn

Formerly the port dealt mainly with coal and mining products, now the port is a major hub for petroleum products and second largest inland port for cereals in North Rhine Westphalia. It is operated by the Gelsenkirchener Logistik , Hafen und Servicegesellschaft (Gelsenkirchener logistics, harbour and service company.) a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Gelsenkirchen.

Hafen Grimberg (Port Grimberg) is on the south canal bank in Gelsenkirchen, near the city boundary to Herne. It was named after the nearby Castle Grimberg, of which today only the foundations remain. Built in 1914 by the Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks AG (GBAG) to provide a link to the GBAG mines of Rheinelbe, Alma and Pluto as well as supplying the ironworks of 'Schalker group' with imported ore. Around the same time, and up to 1929 the industrial railway of Erzbahn was built, serving the Schalker and Bochum group iron and steelworks. Between 1937 and 1968 Grimberg harbour was one of the major ports on the canal. In 1968 steel production at the southern end of the Erzbahn at Bochum ended, in 1982 the Schalker works closed with this the use of the port for transport of iron ore ended. Such was the emphasis on iron ore that much of the port now stands empty, part of it nowadays is used for the processing of recycled materials for the building industry, as well as a storage facility.

The Hafen der Zeche Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great mine port) is directly south of the Port of the King Ludwig mine, as of 2009 the port is the site of an industrial estate named the Industriegebeit Friedrich der Große. The harbour which is cut parallel to the canal is still extant, but without fixed infrastructure, cranes etc.

The Hafen der Zeche König Ludwig served the coal transported from, and deliveries to the former King Ludwig mine. It is located at kilometer 38 of the canal, just upstream of the Herne Ost lock, on the north bank opposite the Hafen der Zeche Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great mine port).

Port Rütgers (Hafen Rütgers ) is the port of Rütgers Chemicals (founded by Julius Rütgers) and is about upstream of the Port Victor on the east side of the canal after the canal makes a slight bend to the north. The main product dealt with here is pitch obtained from coal tar from the refining of coal. The port has a Pneumatic barrier.

Port Luck (Hafen Luck) belongs to the construction and building materials company Luck located on the east bank, a little more than 2 kilometres upstream of Rütgers Chemicals.

Port Marmorit (Hafen Marmorit) is the port of cement and lime mortar manufacturer and distributor Marmorit Knauf GmbH located north of a disused canal side channel and just north of the bridge carrying Wartburgstraße (Wartburgstreet). The actual facility consists of little more than a pier.

Here after ends (or begins) the Rhine–Herne Canal, which meets the Dortmund Ems canal (at the 14.7 kilometre mark) near the old Henrichenburg boat lift (replaced in 1962 by a newer lock, and in 1989 by a new larger lock). The terminal is used as a mooring for pleasure craft. It forms part of the Waltrop lock park.

Fish that inhabit the canal include European eel, European carp, zander, carp bream, common roach and common rudd, as well as the less common pike and rainbow trout.