Low Water Levels in Bulgaria's Danube Section Obstruct Business

The Danube River's water level keeps dropping, which makes shipping very difficult and brings losses for the owners of the vessels. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

The Danube River's water level keeps dropping, which makes shipping very difficult and brings losses for the owners of the vessels.

The major three low water thresholds in the Bulgarian section of the river are near Belene, Vardim and Batin, where the carrying capacity of the vessels is restricted.

"These ships are now being loaded at a shallower draught and the traders, and the carriers, respectively, lose an average of 0.5 m from the draught, which means that this volume of goods cannot be transported and cannot bring a profit," according to Rosen Raikov, head of a Directorate at the Bulgarian Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River.

At present, 28 critical points are monitored by the Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River, according to reports of private TV channel bTV.

The low Danube water level also obstructs passenger vessels, with a cruise ship remaining stuck near Belene for about an hour on Thursday.

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