Poland opened a channel on Saturday that will ensure that shipments from the country no longer have to pass through Russian waters. The new channel will allow ships from the port of the Polish city of Elblag to reach the Baltic Sea without permission from Russia.
In green the new navigation route through the Vistula Spitkanaal
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Until now, Polish ships had to sail along the Vistula Spit, which is partly located in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The new canal was dug through the Polish part of the promontory. It is now only accessible to small boats, but in a year’s time the canal should be wide and deep enough for large ships.
“We wanted to build this passage so that we don’t have to ask permission from a country that is not our friend,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the opening ceremony.
Ecologists criticize the Polish project because it would affect the salinity of the water of the Wislahaf, behind the Vistula Spit. It could be dangerous for animals and plants in the area. There are also those who think that the construction was superfluous and cost too much money, or about 420 million euros.
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