 Since the opening of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, the river connects the Port of Rotterdam and the industrial centres of Western Europe with the Black Sea and, also, through the Danube – Black Sea Canal, with the Port of Constanța.The waterway is designed for large-scale inland vessels () but it can carry much larger vessels on most of its course.The Danube has been partly canalized in Germany (5 locks) and Austria (10 locks).