The Kiel Canal is one of the world's most frequented artificial waterways with an annual average of 32,000 ships (90 daily), transporting approximately 100 million tonnes of goods.

A new canal was sought by merchants and by the German navy, which wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and the North Sea without the need to sail around Denmark.

[7] (The United States opposed this proposal to avoid setting a precedent for similar concessions on the Panama Canal.

[8]) The government under Adolf Hitler repudiated its international status in 1936, but the canal was reopened to all traffic after World War II.

The canal was partially closed for a period in March 2013 after two lock gates failed at the western end near Brunsbüttel.

The failure was blamed on neglect and a lack of funding by the German Federal Government, which had been in financial dispute with the state of Schleswig-Holstein regarding the canal.

Larger ships are obliged to accept pilots and specialized canal helmsmen, in some cases even the assistance of a tugboat.

Larger ships may also be required to moor at the bollards provided at intervals along the canal to allow the passage of oncoming vessels.

Several railway lines and federal roads (Autobahnen and Bundesstraßen) cross the canal on eleven fixed links.

[13][14] In sequence and in the direction of the official kilometre count from west (Brunsbüttel) to east (Holtenau) these crossings are: Local traffic is also served by 14 ferry lines.