TWO SHIPS STUCK DUE TO LOW WATER LEVEL ON THE DANUBE

Navigation along the Bulgarian section of the Danube river is difficult due to the low water level. Two ships were stuck near Belene in the morning on 29th of December, the directorate for the river supervision in the Norther Bulgarian city of Rousse told BTA.

The vessels are under German flag. A Romanian ship is helping to shift them from the shallows. Draft is limited to 2,10 m. Big convoys have to drag their sections.

River supervision authorities advise shipmasters and ship owners to comply with the situation. Thresholds are formed in the region of Vardim Island, Batin, around the mouth of the river Yantra, near Milka island and Popina.

The level of the Danube river at Rousse on 29th of December is 99 cm in relation to the zero-level elevation. The forecast for the next two days it is to drop by further 24 centimeters.

Director of the Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube river, Pavlin Tsonev, explained that the river level is not expected to raise soon.