News on Elbe waterway in Ústecký region

The new marina for small vessels will be located directly in the centre of Děčín on a riverbank close to the municipal library. With a 36 m long floating pier, it will allow for a smooth docking of recreational vessels transporting tourists on the Elbe waterway. Until now, there was no public marina for visitors traveling to Děčín by boat, even though it is becoming an attractive way of spending time in the Czech Republic and in Germany. Thanks to a 20 m long footbridge, persons with reduced mobility will be able to get ashore. There will be also electric charging and water supply facilities available for the docked vessels. Within 48 hours of authorised docking, people can visit the city or stay there overnight. 

“Over a long period, the Waterways Directorate has been paying attention to a development of passenger and recreational navigation in north Bohemia. In 2013 and 2014, we managed to open 5 marinas (in Ústí nad Labem-centrum, Dolní Zálezly, Libochovany, Lovosice, Nučnice and Libotenice) and last year we also opened a new bridge at Vaňov in Ústí nad Labem”, said Lubomír Fojtů, director of the Waterways Directorate. “Besides the already launched construction of marina in Děčín, we want to start working on other four marinas this year, those being in Ústí nad Labem-Brné, Roudnice nad Labem, Štětí and Litoměřice. We are investing in refuelling and waste collection stations. That is why we would like to begin with a construction of a service facility in Roudnice nad Labem next year”, added Mr Fojtů.

The marina in Děčín will consist of a floating concrete pier with a wooden deck, which will run vertically in the entire range of water surface up to the highest flood level thanks to three steel dolphin structures out of which two are already placed on the riverbank wall. The company responsible for the construction is LABSKÁ, strojní a stavební společnost s.r.o. Total costs of CZK 23.8 million will be financed by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure. The marina will be finished in autumn this year.

“Today, we are officially opening a modernised harbour in Hřensko consisting of 8 dolphin structures, which are situated close to the state border with Germany on the right bank of Elbe. These structures were elevated by 4.75 m to provide protection of up to 4 vessels measuring 137 x 11.5 m, i.e. the largest ships regularly navigating on Elbe between the Czech Republic and Germany, even during severe floods, such as in 2002. This will be the last place to safely moor a boat in case of flood if the vessels coming to the Czech Republic from Germany are not able to sail downstream to the nearest safety harbour in Děčín-Rozbělesy”, explained Mr Fojtů. He added that, “Under normal operation, a tugboat BESKYDY accompanies cargo and passenger ships and helps them to navigate through a difficult stretch of Elbe without lock chambers from Děčín to Ústí nad Labem.”

Each dolphin structure is made of 6 steel piles, which are connected with steel platform and equipped with mooring arrangements. The piles from the riverbed line were elevated up to 2.8 m above the surface by an underwater set of steel pipes with three platforms and mooring arrangements. By this elevation, the structures are nearly 18 m high above the riverbed. In the upper part, they are drawn together with a high tenacity chain, which is anchored to a reinforced concrete block in a downstream location. This chain will help to transfer the load between the high dolphin structures. 

The modernisation was done by LABSKÁ, stojní a stavební společnost s.r.o., funding was provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure and total costs reached CZK 17 million.