FRANKFURT - The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Wednesday it opposed the dredging of rivers such as the Weser due to environmental reasons, in a ruling having negative repercussions for expansion plans at the German ports of Bremen and Hamburg. The European Union’s highest tribunal said such dredgings damage the water quality and would not be allowed unless specific exemptions applied. Both ports had wanted to make it easier for new generations of large container ships to reach them regardless of tides, in the face of intense competition from Dutch and Belgian rivals Rotterdam and Antwerp.