Drought hits the Danube - Low water level makes navigation difficult, cruise ships halted, cargo transport difficult

The unfavorable hydrological situation, caused by extremely high temperatures and the biggest drought in Europe in the last ten years, did not bypass the Danube either. Worryingly low water levels hamper river transport in almost all countries.

- Large cruisers, passenger traffic is almost stopped, since passenger ships often have a deeper draft than cargo ships, and because of this they are prevented from operating on both the Danube and the Rhine. On the other hand, cargo traffic went on interrupted, however all large ships go with a quarter, and most often with a fifth of the possible load. All oil, heating oil, construction materials, normally transported by river, are now being transported at a much slower pace - says RTS correspondent from Germany, Nenad Radicevic.

Ships heading to Bulgaria face the most difficult sailing conditions.

- Downstream from Serbia, we have a huge problem in Bulgaria, where the navigation has been completely suspended in the sector of Belena or Dunavtsi. So it is a serious problem that affects us, because a portion of the coal needed for the Nikola Tesla thermal power plant comes from Bulgaria, via the port of Ruse - says Kovacevic.

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

JVP Vode Vojvodine Novi Sad

Ogranak EPS Termoelektrane Nikola Tesla- TENT d.o.o. Obrenovac

TPP Nikola Tesla

Nenad Radicevic

Veljko Kovacevic

Bozidar Belos

Danube navigation

low river water level

drought

freight traffic