Kiel Canal Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, literally "North-[to]-Baltic Sea canal", formerly known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula. This not only saves time but also avoids storm-prone seas and having to pass through the Sound or Belts. Besides its two sea entrances, the Kiel Canal is linked, at Oldenbüttel, to the navigable River
White Sea–Baltic Canal The canal runs partially along several canalized rivers and Lake Vygozero. The total length of the route is . As of 2008, the canal sees only light traffic, carrying between ten and forty boats per day. Its economic advantages are limited by its minimal depth of , inadequate for most sea-going vessels. The canal was originally proposed to be deep; however, various cost issues forced completion to a much lesser depth. This depth typically corresponds to river craft with deadweight cargo up to 600 t, while useful sea going vessels of 2,000–3,000 dwt typically have drafts of . The total