Inland Cargo Ship that Destroyed Moselle Lock was on Autopilot

German prosecutors are continuing to investigate the accident in December that paralyzed river traffic on the Moselle and trapped numerous inland cargo ships in France and Luxembourg. They believe the cargo ship that destroyed the critical lock was sailing on autopilot and failed to break before hitting the gates.

An inland cargo ship loaded with 1,500 tons of scrap metal bound for Mertert in Luxembourg hit the lock gates on December 8 ripping both rates loose from the hinges and damaging the concert and operating mechanism for the lock. At the time, the authority that operates the lock reported it appeared the vessel had not only failed to stop …