The Three Gorges Dam northern shiplocks were closed down between 9:00am and midnight on 10 January for routine maintenance, according to the Yangtze River Administration under the Ministry of Transport. The procedure included drying out chambers to repair leakages at the bottom of the locks, adding oil to the shiplocks’ moving mechanisms and clearing up floating waste.

This is most likely the last major maintenance work ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival, which falls on 3 February. Routine maintenance normally occurs once a month.

While the northern shiplocks were suspended for operation, the southern ones were running as normal.