Danube in Bulgarian-Romanian Section 'Hits Rock Bottom'

The low level of the Lower Danube is bringing commercial shipping to a halt. Photo by BGNES

The level of the Danube River keeps declining in the Bulgarian-Romanian section, literally reaching a "rock bottom", and bringing the commercial navigation to a halt.

According to the Bulgarian Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River, the situation is especially critical near the town of Belene, where three vessels are stuck, and ten convoys of ships are waiting to get through the bottleneck.

The Vit vessel of the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River keeps searching for the most navigable sections of the Lower Danube.

The Agency said Monday that there is a tidal wave of 30-40 cm coming from the Upper Danube but that it will not improve the navigation situation substantially.

The late summer decline of the Danube level is a repetition of the 2011 summer situation when the commercial shipping had to be terminated temporarily.

The lowest level of the Danube in the Bulgarian section on August 27 was registered in 2003 – at minus 74 cm; the highest level on that date was 609 cm.

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