Inland Waterway Carriers Face Crisis over Restrictions for Crew Rests

Bulgarian inland waterway carries, sailing on the Danube river, face a crisis after it became clear that the new EU Mobility Package concerns not only road hauliers, but inland waterway carriers. The new regulation introduces restrictions on crew rests which, according to the industry, will lead to additional costs and put firms out of business. Many ship owners are already considering the option to sail under a foreign flag to avoid the European requirements.

59 are the Bulgarian companies that transport their cargoes along the Danube. This activity provides work for more than a thousand people. So far, crews have stayed on board of the ships for 60 days, for the duration of the voyage. Under the new EU regulation, however, captains and sailors are required to go home on the 31st day, which in practice means they will work six months a year and will rest for six months. The industry, however, is not prepared for such a change because it is associated with enormous additional costs.

Dragomir Kochanov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Danube Chamber: This would require additional transport, supply and change of the responsibilities of one crew with another. One crew will load the goods, another has to deliver them, which is an unusual practice and is not well accepted by the shippers.

In order to meet the requirements of the European directive, which comes into force on 1 June, the inland waterway carriers need to employ at least 500 more sailors.

Valentin Pashanov: These are extra salaries, insurance, but the problem is that there is enough staff. Another option is to reduce the volume of activity and become uncompetitive, he added.

According to the Bulgarian Danube Chamber, cargo carriers from Serbia, Ukraine and Moldova, which have a fleet and are not affected by the changes because they are not members of the EU, will benefit from the situation. In order to keep Bulgaria in the market of river transport, the industry insists that the maximum duration of crew work remain 60 days. They say they expect the assistance of the Prime Minister and Transport Minister.

Чуйте последните новини, където и да сте!
Последвайте ни във Facebook и Instagram
Следете и канала на БНТ в YouTube
Вече може да ни гледате и в TikTok
Намерете ни в Google News