 |
|
 
|
|
|
HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
|
|
30th July, 2026
Drought practically halts river traffic
Some 15 hotel ships and most cargo vessels are currently unable to continue their journeys on the Hungarian section of the Danube due to exceptionally low water levels, the Transport and Investment Ministry announced.
For navigation safety, ships must maintain a minimum clearance of 10cm between their hull and the riverbed. The shipping authority will issue notices on sections where the standard navigable depth of 270cm is not available.
Authorities will not impose a general shipping ban, but will leave decisions to individual captains, who must assess water levels, shallow sections and their vessels’ draft before proceeding.
A hotel ship ran aground near Gönyű on Tuesday after being driven off the shipping lane. The ship is adrift in water less than 1.5m deep. The passengers had already disembarked.
The Danube reached an all-time low in Budapest on Tuesday, with the water gauge recording 31cm in the morning, breaking the previous record of 33cm set on October 25, 2018.
The level continued to recede during the day, reaching 28cm by 5 p.m.
|
Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
|
|
|
 Contact
Free Trial Subscription
|
|
