Today’s Danube ministerial conclusions emphasize the significance of the Rhine-Danube Core Network Corridor and Danube navigation for European Union transportation, particularly the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes. They highlight the obligation to maintain the "Good Navigation Status" of the Danube and its tributaries within the TEN-T network, while also adhering to relevant environmental laws. This includes achieving ecological and conservation standards set by directives like the Water Framework Directive and Birds and Habitats Directives. Additionally, the Danube Ministers of Transport reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the "Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan of the Danube and its navigable tributaries," established under the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and initiated by Priority Area 1a on Inland Waterways (coordinated by Austria and Romania).

Since the endorsement of the Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan in 2014, significant progress has been made in putting the plan into action. Up until the year 2022 already more than 75 million euros had been invested through a range of EU-funded projects, national programs, and pre-accession instruments. During the last year, implementation of the Master Plan has become another boost through the CEF-funded FAIRway Danube II project. With a total budget of around 70 million euros and eight partners from six different Danube countries, this flagship project is setting sail to improve the quality of the Danube waterway. The project aims to maintain a good navigation status for the Danube, considering its environmental characteristics and sensitivity.

As there are also still challenges ahead, the Danube Ministers of Transport emphasized in their joint conclusions the need for ongoing rehabilitation and maintenance efforts beyond 2024 to enhance fairway conditions according to established maintenance objectives. They also recognized the importance of sufficient national financial resources, especially ensuring a sustainable yearly operational budget allocation, as crucial for the successful implementation of the Master Plan. By means of the ministerial conclusions, all countries along the Danube River are urged to create interdisciplinary teams within their waterway administrations. These teams shall work together to develop Nature Based Solutions for rehabilitating and maintaining the Danube and its tributaries.

Link:
https://navigation.danube-region.eu/setting-course-for-tomorrow-strengthening-danube-infrastructure-for-european-connectivity/

Greener, more modern and better. For viadonau, the Austrian Ministry for Climate Action, the European Strategy for the Danube Region and numerous companies on the Danube this must be the clear course for sustainable inland navigation of tomorrow. For the sixth time, the viadonau Danube Business Talks are focussing on the Danube as a road of opportunities and offer an ideal forum for experts to speak plainly about its future – for example on alternative fuels, new technologies and logistics solutions, infrastructural progress as well as further improvements already planned or the development of inland navigation as a working environment and how its attractiveness can be further increased.

Face-to-face networking 

The Danube Business Talks organised by viadonau traditionally stand for the connection of interests in direct, personal contact and are once again making their popular B2B platform "Danube Business Dating" available for this purpose. Take advantage of the opportunity to meet a unique concentration of high-ranking experts and make promising contacts with companies, authorities and politicians.

Registration & event info

To register for the Danube Business Talks in Vienna and for the most important information about the event (including the confirmed speakers), please visit the event website www.danubebusinesstalks.org.   

We look forward to your visit!

(Participation in the event is free of charge!)

The input gathered from the workshop will be incorporated in particular into the development of a Regional Scalability Plan, which will be created for each MERLIN case study. The scientists at BOKU's IHG are responsible for scientific support of the Austrian case study, analysing the findings and combining them with research results from other case studies.

In the afternoon, the programme included a visit to the ongoing construction site for the MERLIN riverbank restoration. As the Austrian implementation partner, viadonau is responsible for this construction project. Over a length of approx. 800 metres, the banks of the Danube are being completely cleared of riprap, some of which are lying in two rows and preventing the formation of natural bank structures. After the Christmas floods subsided, work was able to continue in mid-January 2024. 

The bank restoration is directly connected to the mouth of the Spittelauer side arm, which was reconnected to the Danube in 2021 (in the framework of Dynamic LIFE Lines Danube), and significantly expands the earlier river restoration project.

MERLIN is a Europe-wide research project in the EU's HORIZON 2020 funding programme. Research is being conducted on effective methods for the restoration of European freshwater habitats. BOKU's IHG and viadonau are contributing a riverbank restoration project on the Danube as case study 7a. The researchers are particularly interested in viadonau's many years of experience in the renaturalisation of large rivers that are used as waterways.

Further information

viadonau MERLIN website 
Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (IHG)
MERLIN Website

Further information:

More about the DIWA project
DIWA Masterplan (PDF)
COMEX2 in the viadonau project database

With a total budget of EUR 70 million – including EUR 47 million in EU funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) – 183 remotely monitored buoys are being procured on the Danube as part of FAIRway Danube II, 19 gauging stations are being modernised, moorings in Aschach, Krems, Vienna and on the Danube-Black Sea Canal are being upgraded and the transnational waterway monitoring system WAMOS is being expanded. In addition, the so-called "flexible infrastructure" as an innovative new take on an old idea for the targeted, localised influencing of fairway conditions will be tested. These tests with a barge prepared for this purpose on the danube east of Vienna will provide important preliminary findings for implementation in the countries of the middle and lower Danube in autumn 2024.

Just like the objectives of FAIRway Danube II, its stakeholders and interest groups are also broadly based. The project kick-off in Vienna therefore also served to discuss challenges, key milestones and expectations as part of project presentations, a panel discussion and a visit to the section of the Danube where the use of flexible infrastructure is to be trialled. Joined by the EU Coordinator for the Rhine-Danube Core Network Corridor, Inés Ayala Sender, Alain Baron (EU Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, DG MOVE), Euripides Sakellariou (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, CINEA), Vera Hofbauer (Transport Section, BMK), Birgit Vogel (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, ICPDR), Manfred Seitz (Danube Commission), Andreas Beckmann (WWF Central and Eastern Europe) together with representatives from industry and shipping set the sails of the new ship FAIRway Danube II for the next stage of modernisation on the Danube waterway.

"One of our most important missions in the Ministry for Climate Action is to offer a real sustainable transport alternative with the Danube waterway. The main requirement for this is its best possible usability. I am therefore all the more pleased that FAIRway Danube II is now continuing the success story of its predecessor – a Europe-wide flagship project in terms of improving the quality of the waterway – with great international commitment", explains Vera Hofbauer, head of the transport section in the Austrian Ministry for Climate Action.

viadonau Managing Director Hans-Peter Hasenbichler associates the start of the project with great anticipation and a thirst for action as well: "With FAIRway Danube, we were able to significantly increase the speed of the modernisation engine on the Danube. With this new major project, we are now shifting into the next gear. What is particularly pleasing is that we can build on the successes of the predecessor and that we are once again tackling these goals with a powerful international project partnership. We know from the experience of recent years: What we achieve together lasts."

New release 

In the new EuRIS release, much attention was paid to improving the user friendliness of the portal. Amongst others, vessel owners now have more flexibility and options to ease the vessel claim process. The portal offers better data visibility and improved search and filter options on most services. Multi language support is improved, for example the names of many objects (bridges, locks, berths, terminals) are now available in the national language of the object. Searching for these objects is also improved. 

Based on the received feedback from end users & operators, other improvements that have been made are:

• Notices to Skippers handling and visualisation improved
• Geographical maps show relevant information on a much larger scale (traffic image, hydrometeo information)
• Static and actual bridge clearance information is better handled and visualized
• The published operating hours of infrastructure are refined
• Calculated voyage has a better voyage description (directions)
• Many improvements on the data, its visualization and message handling.
• General performance/security improvements and bug fixes.

Improvements on API’s 

To promote the usage of the offered EuRIS services not only on the EuRIS web interface but also on many other applications with the use of API services, a new interface documentation section with code examples have been provided. This is available on https://developers.eurisportal.eu and will be kept up to date. Furthermore, several improvements on the content and extent of the API’s have been performed. For example: the actual vessels positions can be easily retrieved by fleet owners.

Major milestone is the provision of the current 27.000 km of digital waterway network and its connected RIS Index for download. Developers can use this data to build their own applications and provide additional services or solutions. All provided API’s of EuRIS are treated free of charge as Open Data (except for GDPR protected data). Users can subscribe to notifications to be informed when data is updated, or new data is made available.

The next steps

For the next releases, a complete re-design of the Route and Voyage planners and their usability is envisioned. Data quality will continuously be improved. A download feature for IENC charts will be added.
The EuRIS partners will continue to further develop the platform, depending on the needs and user demands. Users can provide feedback and express wishes for the future of EuRIS via the contact form on the website EuRIS - Contact (eurisportal.eu). All feedback is appreciated and will be considered by the partners. 

EuRIS - your gateway to European Inland Navigation Information

The platform at www.eurisportal.eu was first released in September 2022 by 13 European fairway authorities. It covers the major interconnected inland waterway network in Europe. EuRIS gives access to static and dynamic information and thus gives actual, 24/7 insight about the waterways. Skippers and other users can at any time collect real-time information and gain insight in the actual traffic situation on their sailing route, waiting times, incidents or disruptions that affect the travel time. This helps inland waterway users to plan their voyage and arrival times throughout Europe. They can also share information with others, for example their ETA. This is offered in a protected environment, so that the privacy of all users is guaranteed.

www.eurisportal.eu 

Robert Tögel, coordinator of the river engineering projects in the Danube floodplains, emphasises the scientific component of the project: "The experience gained from our case study on the Austrian Danube will be evaluated via the MERLIN project and combined with findings from other projects. In this way, we can learn more for future renaturation projects throughout Europe.” For this purpose, the riverbank restoration is evaluated by the national scientific partner, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) through pre- and postmonitoring activities and scientifically accompanied together with the MERLIN consortium, which consists of 44 European partners and is led by the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Further information:

MERLIN in the viadonau project database
MERLIN project website

The figures for Danube navigation reveal a continued dynamic development for the year 2022 with partly opposing trends. While, for example, passenger navigation still benefited from recovery effects in the immediate period after the pandemic and was able to record a strong increase in the number of passengers by 76 percent to 955,000, freight traffic and water-side port transshipment partially showed significant declines. At the same time, the waterway was navigable on all 365 days of the year and offered water levels of at least 2.5 meters in the free flowing stretches – 99.5 percent of the year in the Wachau and 94 percent of the year east of Vienna. As confirmed by a survey among commercial users of the Danube waterway with an average grade of 1.33, the opinion on the quality of waterway management by viadonau is extremely positive.

For those interested in learning much more about this in detail – the Annual Report on Danube Navigation in Austria 2022 is already available digitally in traditional form as a PDF in German and English on the viadonau website. In addition, the most important facts and figures can now also be explored on a specially integrated online platform for the Annual Report on Danube navigation.

Here you can go directly on a digital discovery tour

The successfully completed FAIRway Danube project (July 2015 to December 2021) – involving Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania – was the first implementation phase of the "Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan for the Danube and its navigable tributaries". The authorities' fleets were complemented by nine additional state-of-the art vessels for surveying and marking. The "FAIRway Works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor", which started in April 2020, is investing in the upgrade of the Serbian Iron Gate II lock and, for example, three public mooring places in Austria. The "Preparing FAIRway 2 works in the Rhine -Danube Corridor", which started in July 2020, is preparing plans for public mooring places in Austria, Croatia and Serbia, defining next steps for the transnational waterway monitoring system (WAMOS 2.0) and laying the foundations for possible future interventions on the Croatian-Serbian Danube common section. 

FAIRway Danube milestones as a strong foundation

FAIRway Danube II continues where its predecessors already initiated important developments, but also includes a number of innovative measures towards further holistic modernization of the fairway.

The  planned tasks and objectives of FAIRway Danube II:

• Implementation of regular transnational monitoring of fairway conditions
• Procurement of sensors for measuring water levels, fairway depths and bridge clearance heights 
• Upgrading the national waterway management systems and the transnational waterway monitoring system (WAMOS 2.0) to increase their performance and efficiency and to improve information provision to users 
• Extending the lead time of level forecasting – a key tool for logisticians
• Testing flexible infrastructure elements in Austria, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. This unique approach will provide a non-invasive, nature-based solution for low water periods, as it can be used to flexibly influence fairway depth. In this way, the reliability of inland navigation will be improved without any permanent impact on habitats and ecosystems.
• Modernization of existing berths in Austria and Romania to improve infrastructure, especially in terms of crew safety and mobility. The work also includes green energy solutions for shore power at each berth. Plans are also being developed for additional investments in moorings in Austria, Slovakia, Croatia and Romania.

The FAIRway Danube "project family" is co-funded by the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility CEF. 

Furthermore, it is possible to fill in the questionnaire electronically as a Word file in German and English and then either send it by e-mail to kata.seher[at]viadonau.org or hand it in as a printout at the Aschach, Melk or Freudenau locks.

Click here for the questionnaire in MS-Word format:

• German 
• English 

Thank you very much for your support!

Inland and coastal shipping face great challenges with respect to a significant reduction of greenhouse-gas and air-pollutant emissions resulting from the requirements stipulated in the European Green Deal and the Taxonomy Regulation as well as the fact that improved environmental performance has become a feature of ever-increasing importance to the sector in order to remain competitive.

The existing fleet operating on European inland waterways and in the respective coastal areas displays a great potential for greening, which can be unlocked by proper means of retrofit. Currently, different undertakings with respect to greening in the shipping sector as well as other sectors have been carried out or are ongoing. However, the solutions are not brought together in order to facilitate a roll out on a large scale. This is the starting point of SYNERGETICS! The project aims at bringing together the relevant knowledge from different sectors, in particular the waterborne one. This will be realized by creating synergies between the leading research institutions in the field of ship hydrodynamics and energy transition, innovation centres and shipping industry associations, shipbuilding industry, regulatory bodies, vessel owners, and technology providers, as well as between different European regions. The goal is the provision of a consistent catalogue of developed and ready to deploy retrofit solutions which would facilitate and accelerate the green transformation of inland vessels and coastal ships.

What are the objectives?

The key objectives of SYNERGETICS are:

• demonstration of the potentials of retrofit technologies in greening the existing fleets by retrofitting four existing ships in the course of the project duration;
• demonstration of the potentials of hydrodynamic improvements in greening of the existing fleets;
• demonstration of the value of digital assets in greening the existing fleets;
• integration of the knowledge on shipping decarbonisation and air-pollutant emission reduction technologies with experience gained in the pilot projects and in the demonstrations performed within SYNERGETICS, and establishment of the Catalogue of Greening Solutions;
• provision of up-to-date Scenarios to Policy-Makers and the Handbook to Vessel Owners for an accelerated greening of inland and coastal shipping;
• acceleration of the uptake of the greening retrofit solutions by streamlining regulatory procedures;
• propagation of the use of the Catalogue, the Scenarios, and the Handbook developed within SYNERGETICS beyond Western Europe.

What will be demonstrated?

In SYNERGETICS a number of demonstrations will be carried out relating to:

• hydrogen combustion in internal combustion engines;
• methanol combustion in internal combustion engines; 
• innovative hydrodynamic improvements of the hull and the appendages;
• electrification of ships by means of hybridisation of the main propulsion system;
• electrification of ships by means of development of power management system for hybrid propulsion and onboard energy storage.

Details on SYNERGETICS are now also available in our project database.

Additionally, the "Wasserstoff-Brunch" (Hydrogen Brunch) will also offer a lot of input, based on the central question of what will literally drive inland navigation in the upcoming years under the increasing pressure of climate change. Recommendation from the "topics menu": New propulsion concepts and energy sources as well as flagship projects by young experts demonstrating the potential of alternative propulsion ideas – such as the use of fuel cells and new types of ship engines – at the stand of viadonau and the Austrian Danube ports. 

First samples that will whet your appetite for more – be there, 9 to 12 May, at transport logistic 2023 at Messe München, following the motto: „Treffpunkt Donau: Wasserstraße & Logistik“ ("Meeting Point Danube: Waterway & Logistics"). You bring curiosity and interest – we bring the Danube know-how. We are looking forward to finally shaking many hands again.

At the beginning of the workshop, Hans-Peter Hasenbichler highlighted the strengths of inland waterway transport and the support measures already taken to interconnect rail and inland waterway. Following this, Bettina Matzner highlighted the steps taken so far during the current project. After this very short introduction, the focus was on the experts from the field. 

Andreas Mandl, from LTE highlighted the major challenges in European rail transport. The lack of interoperability still burdens the execution of international transports and exploding energy prices currently intensify the competition to road transport. Gerhard Harer, from Steiermarkbahn Transport und Logistik underlined the current challenges. "Since the goods transported by rail and inland waterway are very similar, there could be significant advantages and good synergies in cooperation." Harer is convinced. To achieve this, however, the nodes, i.e. the terminals, must also be further expanded efficiently. Additionally, bypass systems could be certified in advance with the partners in order to significantly shorten the preparation time in case of an incident.

After many years of experience, Valdet Farizi from the company Multinaut is also sure that inland navigation can make a valuable contribution to move large tonnages in an environmentally friendly way with less work force needed. 

Mr. Dauser from Dalco presents a best practice example for thinking outside the box and using different modes of transport through the use of intermodal loading units. He reflected a current timber project to underline which new paths he is taking with this. The swap bodies used can be flexibly transported in all modes, beginning from round timber loaded directly from the production site to the shipment of semi-finished or finished products; rail and ship can be used for the transport of long distances across Europe.  

Mr. Nothegger from the forwarding company Nothegger has also already gained experience with Danube Navigation. In a joint project with the Logistikum, the possibilities for the transport of 45-foot inland containers have already been investigated. 

The detailed discussion with the experts showed that there are perspectives and willingness for a joint solution and cooperation between rail and inland navigation. In addition to the exploration of possible relations, customers and products, optimizations still have to be made in the individual systems, also with regard to multimodal loading units and transhipment hubs. Nevertheless, it is time to take advantage of the current change, to initiate cooperation between these modes of transport, and to jointly "educate" the customer toward environmentally friendly transport solutions.

Infrastructural and digital upgrading go hand in hand on the Danube. Today, boatmasters not only navigate with electronic precision, administrative processes are also handled digitally. Karin De Schepper from Inland Navigation Europe (INE) highlighted the great importance of new Europe-wide standardised systems in terms of waterway information services: EuRIS - a RIS platform that provides all navigation-relevant fairway data in 13 countries - and the new electronic reporting system CEERIS are outstanding milestones of the RIS COMEX project coordinated by viadonau, which was completed in 2022. Another digital advance that is changing a working environment, that has always placed special demands on the transport industry and logistics. Vera Hofbauer, head of section at the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) therefore sees the expansion of special training programs for inland navigation as one of the most important measures for modernising inland navigation. The REWWay education platform, which was set up by Logistikum Steyr together with viadonau is today one of the most sought-after online contact points for the constantly growing demand for waterway-specific teaching and learning material and has a strong role model effect for other emerging concepts  in the entire transport sector.

Climate change is forcing fundamental changes in business and society. Green Deal, UN Sustainable Development Goals, and responsible business ethics are firmly integrated into the values and goals of numerous "big players" on the Danube. For OMV, for example, climate neutrality by 2050 is also a declared goal. For more than 80 years, the company has relied on shipping as an essential part of the value chain. According to Jana Gavril, Senior Expert for Strategic Logistics at OMV Downstream GmbH, around 1 million tons of petroleum products are transported across the Danube every year. As an oil, gas and chemicals group, OMV is committed to the EU climate goals. Therefore, it is important to significantly reduce the ecological footprint of the company and, for example, to reduce the C02 emissions of the company by up to 30 percent by the end of the decade.

The waterway is a particularly environmentally friendly mode of transport whose great climate protection potential can be further increased, especially in terms of shipping and power supply. According to Sascha Gill of Viking River Cruises, around 16,000 ships travel Europe's rivers, for which "greening" incentives need to be created for switching to more climate-friendly fuels or retrofitting to more modern propulsion systems. The broad-based EU NAIADES III program would set a clear course for this. In order to achieve the zero-emission targets by 2050, Gill believes that the consistent expansion of the shore-side power infrastructure offers particularly large opportunities for CO2 savings of up to 45 percent. The expert is convinced that climate-conscious travel and sustainable offers for tourism are demanded by customers. Responsible management must therefore be a natural element of quality services and offerings.

The waterway is not only a place for environmentally oriented modernisation, moreover it literally transports it. The essential hubs for this are the ports. Mobility expert Marjan Beelen from the Port of Antwerp - the largest transhipment point for RoRo (Roll-On-Roll-Off) goods in Europe -, Peter Stöttinger from Felbermayr and Jürgen Plauensteiner from Rhenus Donauhafen Krems, where the optimal use of the waterway has been demonstrated for many years, for example with the handling of construction elements for wind energy plants, put a striking exclamation mark behind the motto of the Danube Business Talks with positive economic impulses and the constant expansion of the ports‘ superstructure. The message of the conference, which was carried by the many experts and which Austria's Minister for Climate Protection so pointedly emphasized in her welcoming remarks, was all the clearer at the end. Minister Leonore Gewessler: "The motto of this year's Danube Business Talks - Green Deal - Green Danube - is intended to show that we on the Danube are doing our homework and making a strong contribution to the declared goal of the European Green Deal to actually be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, also and especially with the Danube waterway."

Networking is the key

Current topics, variety of themes and concentrated expertise are only part of the success of the Danube Business Talks. This year, it was important to viadonau to again create the appealing contrast between a specialist conference on the one hand and an appropriate setting for personal exchange on the other. While targeted business contacts could be established at the Business Dating, an excursion to the ÖSWAG shipyard in Linz combined the conference topics with exciting impressions of shipping technology. Furthermore, the Danube Business Talks 2022 were accompanied digitally by competent experts. A large part of the presentations and debates could also be followed via streaming.

Downloads [Presentations (PDF)]

Future perspective of inland navigation in European Green Deal (Karin De Schepper, INE)
Austrian policy initiatives and new funding possibilities for greener vessels (Vera Hofbauer, BMK)
New challenges for waterway management Our path to energy self sufficiency (Gert-Jan Muilerman, viadonau)
OMV’s Contribution to Climate neutrality (Jana Gavril, OMV Downstream GmbH)
Your breakbulk home port (Marjan Beelen, Port of Antwerp Bruges)
Power in motion on the Rhine-Danube Corridor (Peter Stöttinger, Felbermayr Transport- und Hebetechnik GmbH & Co KG)
Rhenus port logistics (Jürgen Plauensteiner, Rhenus Donauhafen Krems)
Lower Danube Cruising Perspectives and Challenges (Radu Comanici)
Development of new international passenger terminals in Serbia New Destinations for Sustainable Travel (Port Governance Agency, Serbia)
Green Award for inland navigation (Jan Fransen, Green Award)
Greening projects for inland navigation in Europe (Martin Quispel, PLATINA 3)

Photo gallery

The DAVID forms unify the data fields of the three most commonly used border control forms (arrival and departure notification, crew list and passenger list). They have gradually replaced corresponding national forms in the Danube region. The introduction of the DAVID forms in Romania and the Republic of Moldova thus contributes to the further simplification of border controls and to the reduction of administrative efforts for freight and passenger shipping along the Danube.

A brief review

In 2020, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine have introduced the DAVID forms. Since their introduction in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, the DAVID forms are applicable at all border checkpoints at or outside the Schengen area.

Further information

https://navigation.danube-region.eu/working-groups/wg-6-administrative-processes/

Otto Hawlicek, Managing Director of CTE, gave the participants a fascinating insight into the daily container ballet at Container Terminal Enns. At close range, they were able to watch the container cranes lifting and the trucks at their mostly digitalized entry and exit. Last but not least, a visit to the Port of Enns showed the diversity of this transhipment hub, including the RoRo ramp, before Werner Auer, Managing Director of the Ennshafen, presented the Port in Detail and its latest projects at the afternoon workshop.

"Taking an active role in the field of mobility for inland navigation, in addition to operating the infrastructure is very important for viadonau," commented Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, Managing Director of viadonau during his introduction. As part of the initiatives in the field of Danube logistics, new potentials for the transport of goods on the Danube should be forced. "After all, transporting rolling cargo by inland vessel offers numerous advantages," said Bettina Matzner, who leads the project intermodal and rolling cargo on inland waterways. 

Already today, Donaustar offers a regular connection from Passau to Vidin for rolling cargo and heavy lift. According to Alexander Rubchev, who acts as a barge agent in Regensburg, static and rolling cargo can also be combined onto one ship, while the specially used catamaran has a maximum draught of only 1.65 meters. 

It was not only Danube logistics specialists who showed interest in rolling transport solutions; Manfred Hitzinger from the company Hitzinger Transporte also have collected experience with inland waterway vessels as a means of transport and is currently preparing a new project. Traditionally, the freight forwarder has specialized in caravans and motor homes, but now inland shipping is to be added to the portfolio. 

The situation is similar at Hödlmayr High & Heavy. Current challenges such as a shortage of truck drivers or high raw material prices have been causing Michael Wöckinger headaches for some time. In his search for environmentally friendly transports, he is also considering inland shipping. But the customer also has to go along with longer transit times for the sake of better environmental performance. 

The discussion clearly showed, in order to achieve sustainable climate goals, all participants in the logistics chain must take important steps and work in close cooperation. 

But how to go about this transformation? The workshop aspires to help solve this challenge facing the inland navigation sector, while at the same time deriving the requirements for technical standards, management systems, the reliability and usability of the systems, and also the need to use such services from the providers’ and users’ perspective. The ports as well will play a particular role in this as a result of their transformation into energy hubs.

This will involve CCNR Member States’ experts sharing their experience of planning, building and operating shore power connection units. The users of these systems will also be given adequate time to make their wishes and comments known. For a technical discussion with actors including those from the Danube region, the event will be organised in Strasbourg in collaboration with viadonau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH.

The workshop is targeted at waterway, lock, port, terminal, berth and cargo handling operators, the shipping industry, power generators and power network operators, as well as the river commission and other international inland navigation organisations.

Working languages: French, German, Dutch, English
Participation in the workshop is free of charge. The event programme will be notified later.

Downloads

Save the Date Workshop Berths Flyer

Links/Contact

www.viadonau.org
www.ccr-zkr.org
E-Mail: ccnr[at]ccr-zkr.org

Under „Services transport planning“ you will find your precise information. Take the opportunity to take a tour of the variety of topics and information right now.

First Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, Managing Director of viadonau, highlighted the advantages of Danube navigation and its good environmental performance, as well as the development of initiatives in the field of Danube logistics at viadonau. Afterwards, Bettina Matzner gave a short overview of the special field of container transport via Danube and current challenges and potentials. The Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection also attaches great importance to the topic of "combined transport" within the Austrian transport policy. Julia Elsinger presented national strategies and funding in this area.

Digitally connected from Salzburg, Otto Hawlicek from Container Terminal Enns gave an insight into the multimodal terminal on the Danube in the Ennshafen. Efficient handling of containers by gantry cranes, which span the depots as well as railway tracks and quay, enables the optimal transhipment of containers with increasing quantities every year between the three modes. Currently, about a quarter of the empty containers are delivered to the Ennshafen by barge. In addition to these transports, Mr. Hawlicek also sees potential for continental volumes in swap bodies and semi-trailers by barge.

Not far away, intermodal transports are also moving into the spotlight in Bavaria. Andreas Plank of Bayernhafen reported on the planned expansion in Regensburg and the implementing of the new container terminal in Passau in cooperation with various partners. 

Multinaut Donaulogistik has also gained experience with container transports by barge in the past. Chartering a total of 20 vessels, numerous products are transported along the Rhine-Main-Danube corridor. As Valdet Farizi highlighted, suitable vessels and necessary experience are already available. In order to ensure reliability despite lock closures in the westbound direction, currently potentials for cooperation with railways are worked out.

At Nothegger Transport Logistik, on the other hand, the focus is not on ISO containers but on continental volumes. With numerous block train connections through Western Europe, Karl Nothegger Senior has already been able to establish many intermodal transports. Currently, the possibility of inland waterway transports to the east is being investigated in a joint project with various partners; the conception of an optimized vessel is also part of this project.

The following discussion showed that in principle there is enough volume available for the transport of full containers. What container transports on the Danube still need for a big push is cooperation: only together can carriers, forwarders, ports and shipping companies get such concepts off the ground. Last but not least, cooperation with rail operators would open up special opportunities to maximise the strengths of both modes of transport and increase resilience.

Further Info:

www.viadonau.org/en/economy/danube-logistics/initiatives/intermodal-and-rolling-cargo-on-inland-waterways-2021-2022

The State Secretary at the Austrian Ministry of Climate Action, Magnus Brunner, confirmed the enormous impact of the corona virus pandemic on the Danube waterway even though the cargo shipping sector showed great resilience against the crisis: „Thankfully we were able to continuously maintain important supply chains on the Danube especially regarding agricultural and industrial products. Now we have to focus on tackling the climate crisis also in the field of Danube navigation. Therefore, great efforts by every stakeholder are needed to set up the right path towards greening inland navigation. Together with viadonau, one of the most important goals is therefore to establish low-emission and energy-efficient ship technology through new funding programms.“

viadonau’s managing director, Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, pointed out the major efforts to ensure appropriate usability of the Danube waterway during the pandemic. ’’From the start of the crisis it was very clear for us that we had to ensure the continuous functionality of our services for the users of the Danube waterway. A success we achieved together with federal institutions and partners. But the next tasks are already waiting to be accomplished like simplifying cross-border administrative procedures as well as the further digitalization of the Danube waterway. “

After the tremendous decline of passenger shipping, experts now have a brighter view of the future. The number of tourists will very likely rise again to pre-crisis level in the seasons 2022 and 2023. Austria scores above all as a safe travel destination, and at the same time Danube journeys are increasingly in demand from the domestic tourism sector.

The experts agree: The Danube waterway carries great potential to support measures against the climate crisis and to lead the European Commission’s Green Deal to success. With an increased modal shift towards inland navigation carbon emissions could be avoided to a significant extent. viadonau is specifically focusing on these positive effects of an increasing use of inland navigation as an effective transport option and ensures the best possible conditions for sustainable cargo shipping on the Danube waterway. To support improvements of waterway infrastructure along the entire Danube river viadonau takes a leading role in international projects – for an integrated maintenance of the entire river and a competitive transport mode in the 21st century.

Downloads

The presentations of the speakers can be downloaded here.

The modernization of the public mooring place in Linz is being carried out as part of the “FAIRway works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor“ co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) of the European Union. FAIRway works! is a joint project by Austria and Serbia with the aim to improve the waterway infrastructure along the Danube in these two countries.

One of the project goals is to sustainably improve the supply and quality of public mooring places in Austria for commercial shipping. This is important, as berths enable the sector to comply to legally required resting times. Public mooring places enable the ships’ crews to conduct necessary crew changes or shore leaves, while they also offer safe anchorage in the event of emergencies and accidents.

In addition to the modernization of the mooring place in Linz, the public berth in Wildungsmauer will be upgraded. After the construction works, the mooring place will offer the necessary infrastructure for commercial cargo shipping. In a further step, the public mooring place in Vienna (Brigittenau II) will be modernized according to the requirements of the sector.

More information about the project:

www.fairwayworks.org

So far, the DAVID forms have been officially introduced in Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine in 2020. Soon, the DAVID forms shall also be implemented in Romania and the Republic of Moldova for a transnational deployment of DAVID forms at and outside of all Schengen external borders along the Danube.

In addition to the introduction of DAVID forms in the Danube region, the digitalisation of the forms also plays an important role in order to diminish administrative barriers, making Danube shipping even more attractive for existing and potential new customers. In coordination with the Working Group on “Administrative Processes”, viadonau offers the DAVID Creator in the DoRIS portal to interested users free of charge.

The application enables the

• Electronic creation of the 3 DAVID forms (Arrival & Departure Report, Crew List and Passenger List
• Saving of template versions for later usage
• Creation of new DAVID forms from already existing forms with automatically pre-filled, basic data (e.g. ship name, ENI number),
• Saving the created DAVID forms as PDF in the desired Danube language on desktop for further submission to authorities via e-mail (submission takes place outside the portal).

Also, the navigation of the portal is available in all Danube languages to support the Danube-wide digitalisation of the DAVID forms.

The future of the Danube east of Vienna seems to be marked out. Thus, the milestones jointly achieved with the Donau-Auen National Park describe a clear development course for viadonau along the Danube. The name of the Dynamic LIFE Lines Danube project says it all: for viadonau Managing Director Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, restoring the tributaries as lifelines for the surrounding area is a central approach to re-establishing varied microhabitats for a variety of plant and animal species. In this way, the Spittelauer tributary, which once again has a year-round flow, acts as a true multiplier for biodiversity. For example, for animals such as the nose, barbel, little ringed plover and kingfisher, as National Park Director Edith Klauser explains. With the changing water levels and near-natural conditions, the young stages of an alluvial landscape in particular would be promoted. According to Klauser, the consistent environmentally oriented path along the Danube in the national park area was possible primarily through the cooperation and support of viadonau, municipalities, interest groups, nature conservation organizations, politics and science. Finally, WWF Austria Managing Director Andrea Johanides also emphasized the nationwide exemplary effect of the project: "The reconnection of the Spittelauer side arm with the Danube after more than 100 years is an enormously important signal. Only about one percent of rivers still have intact floodplains. This makes every single kilometer of floodplain that is preserved or newly created more important."

Further information:

www.lifelines-danube.eu
www.facebook.com/viadonau
https://twitter.com/via_donau
#lifelinesdanube

One of the most important activities in the framework of “FAIRway works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor” is the upgrade of the Serbian navigational lock Iron Gate II, planned for 2022-2023, which will be implemented without serious interruptions for the navigation. The current state of the lock jeopardises the safety and reliability of the operations, therefore the works foreseen in this project are essential to ensure that a Good Navigation Status is achieved and maintained. While Serbia will also procure one multifunctional marking vessel, one surveying vessel and monitored buoys in the framework of the project, the initiatives in Austria address the upgrade of three public mooring places in Linz, Wildungsmauer and Vienna. The construction works in Linz started in December 2020 and aim to improve the safety and the environmental performance of mooring operations. Another activity celebrating first success, is the procurement of multifunctional marking equipment with delivery of the lighter and contract signature for the pusher in March 2021. The new marking equipment will improve surveying data and enable faster marking operations, in particular in the free-flowing sections Wachau and East of Vienna.

While “FAIRway works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor” focuses on the technical implementation of modernising the Danube waterway, the project „Preparing FAIRway 2 works in the Rhine-Danube Corridor“ carries out as a joint undertaking with Croatia and Serbia preparatory works for the potential river engineering measures along the critical bottlenecks on the Croatian-Serbian common Danube section.

Flagship projects with ecological responsibility

The modernisation push generated by the new cross-border projects on the Danube ensures a lot of enthusiasm among the project partners, especially due to the important cross-border connection of economic and ecological interests. Vera Hofbauer (Austrian Federal Ministry of Climate Action) is convinced that “both projects not only contribute to the realisation of the Green Deal through the promotion of Danube navigation, but will also contribute to the realisation of the biodiversity strategy by means of integrated planning on the Croatian-Serbian border stretch”.

The new Rhine-Danube Coordinator, Inés Ayala Sender, welcomes the projects in the CEF portfolio and explains that expansion of the European core transport network to the Western Balkan, as addressed by both projects, is essential for a seamless and effective transport in Europe because “transport does not stop at EU borders”.

For Herfried Leitner (Pro Danube International) the safety and reliability of the waterway are an important basis for its future. He endorses the presented projects and explains: “Danube navigation sector very much appreciates the two new project initiatives, which ensure the decrease of waiting times at the Serbian Iron Gate II locks, provide better marking and information services and enhance safety and sustainability of mooring operations.”

Arno Mohl from WWF Austria urges to act responsible in dealing with the Croatian-Serbian common Danube section and reminds: „It is one of the best-preserved Danube stretches with the largest floodplain forests along the whole Danube with a unique biodiversity and key protected areas as well as an essential part of the prospective world´s first 5-country Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube. Hence, WWF urges that the planned interventions must not lead to any negative ecological impacts on this outstanding area.“

Guided by the Joint Statement on Inland Navigation and Environmental Sustainability in the Danube River Basin, and in compliance with the EU environmental legislation,the project partners will monitor parameters relevant to the work for the fairway upgrade together with environmental characteristics for the catalogue of biodiversity components of the common Danube section. Thecollected data will be used for modelling and multi-criteria analysis. The project will deliver models, define and prioritise critical sections for possible future works on the common Danube section and, on the basis of multi-criteria analysis, the works variants will be assessed and next steps will be defined. All activities will be done in a close cooperation with a multidisciplinary Stakeholder Forum being currently formed and including relevant experts from the inland navigation sector and nature protection NGOs.

Further to the activities on the Croatian-Serbian common Danube section, and under the coordination of viadonau (Austria), the project partners will assess requirements, identify possible measures and prepare plans for future construction and upgrading of public mooring places infrastructure in Austria, Croatia and Serbia along with the new concepts for an improved Stakeholders’ Coordination and enhancement of Waterway Monitoring System functionalities.

About the projects

Both projects are co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union. They aim to improve navigation conditions on the Danube and support involved countries to maintain a “Good Navigation Status” and to reach minimum requirements for rivers and canals by 2030 as set in the TEN-T Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013, while preserving a “Good Ecological Status”.

Further Information:

FAIRway Works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor: www.fairwayworks.org
Preparing FAIRway 2 works in the Rhine-Danube Corridor: www.preparingfairway2.org

The amount of locked-through vessel units for cargo transport reached nearly the amount of the previous year. The crew of the vessels, the port and lock operation personnel and the logistics personnel did a tremendous job to keep the cargo flows running.

In addition to the regularly conducted transports, new flows have been developed and will hopefully continue in the upcoming years:

The Port of Vienna (Hafen Wien) was able to strengthen its position as a transhipment hub for recycling products. In the year 2020, plant components and various other metal scrap was unloaded, stored and loaded on inland vessels to be shipped to Turkey. But also, other recycling materials have gained in importance: Several shiploads of waste wood have been imported from the North of Europe via inland vessel and have been discharged in the port.

The Lagerhaus Absdorf-Ziersdorf was also striking a new path for the transport of their agricultural products this year. To handle this year’s rich harvest of maize, 1.000 tons of maize have been transported directly from the field and loaded onto a ship in the Rhenus Port of Krems. 40 hours later, the corn reached its destination in Aschach (Upper Austria), was dried and ready for storage and processing. With the transport via inland vessel from Krems to Aschach 40 truck journeys have been saved.

This year, the company Pfister Consulting GmbH organised for the first-time regular shiploads of round wood via inland barge from the Rhenus Port in Krems to Hungary. This new export flows have been introduced due to the regional big volumes of wood. Especially for these high volumes, Danube Navigation can offer great opportunities and low transport costs.

All these positive examples from the cargo shipping industry underline the importance of the Danube as crisis-proof, environmentally friendly and cost-effective transport axis for the industry in Austria. The passenger shipping industry will hopefully rise quickly to their earlier performance, after the positive effects of the planned immunisation enables the usual unlimited passenger traffic. Nevertheless, these highlights at the end of a troubled year, help us at viadonau to look ahead in with optimism.

As Thomas Moser from the Port of Giurgiulesti explained that the mayor amount of goods transhipped are agricultural bulk products. Additional high volumes of mineral oil are delivered via sea vessels, as Giurgiulesti is located on the maritime part of the Danube. A new oil mill has settled down recently in the port and besides vegetable oils also liquid fertilizer and ethanol has been transhipped recently.

Exciting impressions on future developments concerning fertilizers were presented by Herfried Leitner from TTS Austria. Especially in South-East-Europe the demand in the upcoming years will increase, only phosphate fertiliser will face a decline. Other fertilizer products will rise in this region and will offer future potential for inland navigation. The company TTS operates 55 pushers and around 450 barges. Additionally, other services are offered within the group such as operation of terminals for transhipment, a shipbuilding yard and bunker facilities.

The current crisis is taking their tolls but the supply reliability plays a central role especially today. Future changes in the transported cargo like e.g. decrease of fossil fuel and yearly changes in agricultural cargo flows, also influence the Danube Navigation sector. On the maritime Danube, the increase of lot sizes using sea vessels can help to optimise cost. On the Upper and Middle Danube more often, multimodal concepts are used as smaller lots for chemical products are getting in focus.

Inland navigation contributes to an environmentally friendly transport system, its markets players like shipping companies, ports and cargo owners should act as a jointly to represent interests of the sector a to show the advantages and opportunities in the competition with other transport modes.

The initiative of chemical and petrochemical products will be accomplished at the end of this year. In total, three expert workshops showed the opportunities and potentials of the different cargo types. Additionally, an information brochure in German and a dedicated website display all necessary inputs on inland navigation.

Further information

The DAVID forms were elaborated under the coordination of viadonau in the EU Danube Region Strategy Working Group under the Priority Areas PA1a (inland waterways) and PA11 (security) with the involvement of the shipping sector and experts.

The gravel removed during the construction work will be returned into the Danube bed load cycle and, for this purpose, dumped into the river at a suitable point as part of viadonau's proactive waterway management.

By implementing the revitalization measures, viadonau is investing in a sustainable future of ecologically intact river landscapes. The primary goal of the hydraulic engineering measures on the Fischa is the extensive restoration of the original river, floodplain and bank structures as well as increasing the quality of the habitat for fish populations typical in this area. In cooperation with other targeted river-ecological measures, the project contributes to the long-term improvement of the Fischa-Danube habitat network.

Further information:

https://rivercorridor.com/
http://www.viadonau.org/en/company/project-database/aktiv/alpine-carpathian-river-corridor

Especially during the most intense phase of the crisis, the Danube waterway has proven its great potential as an environmentally friendly and high-performance transport option, but also as a reliable supplier of essential goods. viadonau looks confidently into the future of the Danube region and hopes to be able to do this again in 2021 together with numerous high-ranking experts at the Danube Business Talks 2021.

Save the date: 13 and 14 October 2021 in the Palais Kaufmännischer Verein in Linz.

In celebration of the start of the constructions, state secretary Magnus Brunner emphasizes the integrative approach. “The Danube is both the transport corridor and lifeline and therefore improvements for shipping and ecology go hand in hand. By reconnecting the Spittelauer side arm a vital milestone for the improvement of the habitat has been implemented and on top of that, the renaturation measures give the river more space and have positive effects on flood protection.”

Particularly flood protection profits from this project twice, since the restoration of the Marchfeld flood protection dam which is running at the same time, creates direct synergies by reusing the armor stones. Part of the recovered amour stones can be incorporated in the only 10 km far away dam next to Stopfenreuth. Besides the immediate costs which can be saved for disposal and acquisition, also pollutant emissions can be kept low due to the short transportation routes.

"Multiple renaturation measures were already implemented at some waterbodies in Lower Austria with the help of the LIFE funding program of the EU. The fact that the successful work can now be done within the frame of such a big project, shows the importance of natural protection areas in Lower Austria for the protection of endangered species in Europe”, says Deputy Governor of Lower Austria Stefan Pernkopf.

The important side arm systems at the north bank opposite of Hainburg as well as between Haslau and Regelsbrunn at the south bank will become valuable habitats in the future. According to Edith Klauser – director of the Donau-Auen National Park who welcomes the important revitalization measures: “The LIFE Project will reconnect about 14 km of side arms to the Danube in the national park alone. Further a renaturation of about 4 kilometer of river banks is planned. These measures will give the Danube more strength to remodel the landscape, from which many typical species of the floodplains, such as the endangered pigo or the streber as well as the sea eagle - who successfully hatches in the surroundings of the Spittelauer side arm - will benefit.”

The construction measures are of course carried out with the utmost consideration for the protected goods of the national park. A flexible concept was developed in order to protect the nesting sea eagles and supervised by the employees of the national park.
Also in order to protect the employees from getting infected with COVID-19, construction works were paused for a short time. But after a safety concept and corresponding training had been completed, the construction work was possible to be continued in compliance with the strict health requirements.

The actual start of construction was preceded by a successful application for funding in the LIFE Nature funding program of the European Union. In the previous year, the Austrian-Slovakian consortium under the leadership of the Austrian waterway company viadonau got awarded with the contract for the “Dynamic LIFE Lines Danube” project. 25-kilometer-long lifelines shall come into existence in the Danube floodplains during this project as well as direct measures for improving the alluvial forests will be carried out. The Donau-Auen National Park, WWF Austria, the Slovakian NGO BROZ, the Comenius university in Bratislava (Faculty for natural sciences) and the national forestry center of Slovakia (NCL) are involved. The county of Lower Austria and the Lower Austrian fishery association are financially supporting the project.

“viadonau plays a pioneering role when it comes to renaturing large navigable rivers. The experience from this has influenced the measures which were taken during the preparations and will be forwarded to the experts for ecology and river engineering in the Danube region in this LIFE project”, concludes viadonau managing director Hans-Peter Hasenbichler.

More information

www.lifelines-danube.eu

The Community Customs Code requires that control procedures should be aligned and the number of procedures reduced to those that are economically justified. Acting on this maxim a joint Working Group of stakeholders from the shipping sector and control authorities recently reached a major step in ensuring efficient border control procedures in the Danube region.

From simplification...

Analyses of the joint Working Group demonstrated that numerous requests for data are duplicated, different forms are in use in different countries and that multiple controls can be observed. The first step in the developmental path was therefore to agree on the elimination of superfluous data requests.

via harmonisation...

The next challenge was to screen and streamline the different border control forms in use along the entire Danube. In order not to lose the thread, the efforts of the Working Group focused on three often used forms: arrival and departure forms, crew lists and passenger lists. All requested data fields on national control documents were analysed and duplications between various formsidentified. The synchronised application of a first set of so-called Danube Navigation Standard Forms (DAVID) was recently started with its introduction in Hungary, Croatia and Serbia.

to digitalisation

In parallel to the anchoring and application of the already harmonised set of DAVID forms, the RIS COMEX project (co-financed in the Connecting Europe Facility) will specify the required steps to digitalise the submission of DAVID formsbased on the „single data entry“and „report only once“ principle. The joint Working Group of PA1a and PA11, as well as the RIS COMEX and the already concludedDANTE project form together a TEN-T Corridor Flagship Project, that supports the transport policy objective towards digitalisation of administrative procedures on inland waterways.

As a result, Danube navigation will become more attractive for potential customers asship crews can save time and concentrate on their actual job: Carrying cargo from A to B with the most environmentally friendly mode of transport.

The harmonised DAVID forms are available for download on the websites of the respective Ministries:

Ministry for Innovation and Technology of Hungary – National Transport Authority
Links to DAVID forms in hu/en
Érkezési-indulásijelentés/Arrival and Departure Report (hu/en)
Személyzetilista/Crew List (hu/en)
Utas lista/Passenger List (hu/en)
 
Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia
Link to DAVID forms in hr/en
Najavadolaskaiodlaska/Arrival and Departure Report (hr/en)
Popisposade/Crew List (hr/en)
Popisputnika/Passenger List (hr/en)
 
Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia
Link to DAVID forms in rs/en
Izveštaj o odlasku/dolaskubroda/Arrival and Departure Report (rs/en)
Popisposade/Crew List (rs/en)
Spisakputnika/Passenger List (rs/en)

For this purpose, viadonau creates with the Danube Business Talks for the fourth time a strong “power house” of international outreach. The motto – Power for the River – has two important meanings: By focusing on the modal shift of promising product groups such as high and heavy goods or chemical and petrochemical products onto the Danube, the high transport potential of the waterway is emphasized once again. Beyond that, the Danube Business Talks for the first time offer a multifaceted forum for current developments and know-how exchange related to the topic how shore power can contribute to a more efficient and environmentally-friendly energy supply on inland vessels.

In their role as lighthouse for the future of inland waterway transport, the Danube Business Talks in Linz will bring their participants on course. Once more, market-oriented programme items, such as the B2B-platform Danube Business Dating, will offer targeted business perspectives and contacts, economic impulses and latest news on Danube Navigation in a pleasant and competent setting.

Reflecting the new climate and environmental protection goals of the Austrian Federal Government, the Danube Business Talks in Linz will provide a favourable opportunity to jointly develop cross-border solutions to strengthen the Danube as logistics corridor in the European transport network.

The participation in the Danube Business Talks is free of charge. Registration will be possible soon.

This year’s motto: Power for the River. In the cargo shipping sector we will focus on shifting high & heavy goods and chemical products onto the Danube – for these two market segments experts predict particularly powerful growth rates. In the passenger shipping sector we will focus on the supply of passenger vessels with shore power. In order to strengthen competitiveness and environmental performance of the Danube waterway, an efficient and environmental friendly energy supply is particularly important in urban areas.

The Danube Business Talks offer private and public stakeholders an opportunity for targeted networking and knowledge exchange on economic impulses and innovations in the field of Danube navigation. The new climate and environmental protection goals of the Austrian Federal Government provide a favourable framework for the development of cross-border solutions to strengthen the Danube transport axis in the European transport network. In addition to the international exchange between companies, public authorities and politicians, the B2B platform Danube Business Dating will provide once again opportunities for establishing new business contacts.

High Voltage guaranteed!

Danube Business Talks 2020
Palais Kaufmännischer Verein in Linz
14 - 15 October 2020
Participation in the Danube Business Talks is free of charge,
but registration is obligatory (at a later date).
Conference language: English

Contact:
Cornelia Lang
via donau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH
Donau-City-Strasse 1
1220 Wien
events@viadonau.org
0043 504321 1406

During fall and winter of 2019 viadonau implemented river engineering measures at the mouth of the Fischa for a near-nature redesign of the banks. Roughly 10.000 cubic meters of gravel and amour stones were moved in the context of the renaturation.
While the existing river bank enforcement on the upstream side of the river mouth was lowered over a length of 125 meter, on the downstream section the rip-rap was completely removed over a length of an approximately 130 meters. “The revitalized river mouth allows Fischa and Danube to develop dynamically and form natural bank structures. Especially rheophile fish like the ‘Common Nase’ benefit from the renaturation at the Fischa, where diverse river bank habitats can now develop” explains viadonau project manager Julia Kneifel.

Alpine Carpathian River Corridor

Coordinated by the national park Donau-Auen and co-funded by the European Union and the state of Lower Austria the project “Alpen Karpaten Fluss Korridor” (Alpine Carpathian River Corridor) focuses on the improvement and protection of the connectivity of habitats for water bound organisms at the Austrian-Slovakian border region. The renaturation of the Fischa mouth is the first successfully completed out of a total of 13 planned pilot measures of the project and part of the viadonau Catalogue of Measures for the Danube to the East of Vienna. Further information about the projects of the “Alpen Karpaten Fluss Korridor” can be found here as well as in the viadonau project database.

Get active now and participate in the future development of the waterway! Click here for the survey. Alternatively, the printed questionnaires are also available directly at the locks.

Section chief Prof. Gerhard Gürtlich (BMVIT), district commissioner Peter Suchanek (Bruck an der Leitha) and Thomas Ram, mayor of Fischamend, were celebrating the start of the implementation measures at Schwechat and Fischa, as a strong sign to permanently give the rivers and their nature their space back as part of a holistic and transnational development.
Deputy governor of Lower Austria, Stephan Pernkopf, emphasized how important it is to preserve and improve the “Green Ring” around Vienna. A total of 2 million euros will be invested in the Alpine Carpathian River Corridor, with the restoration measures at Fischa and Schwechat serving as exemplary projects.

Director of the Donau-Auen National Park Edith Klauser explained that the rivers and floodplains of the Alpine Carpathian Corridor are often the only connecting elements between existing protected areas. Therefore, the goal of the “Alpine Carpathian River Corridor Project” led by the National Park is to ecologically strengthen the rivers as migration corridor, which also play a major role for biodiversity in the National Park area. Fish like the Common Nase, as a typical Danube fish in the national park section, will particularly benefit from the revitalization of the Fischa.

The renaturation of the estuary of the Fischa into the Danube is implemented by the project partner viadonau. The ecological transformation of the estuary is also an important step for the waterway operator to strengthen the habitat network of the tributary river and the Danube. Managing Director of viadonau, Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, highlighted the project as an important part of the viadonau “Catalog of Measures” for improving the ecological conditions of the entire Danube section east of Vienna. With a fish ladder in the "Little Floodplain" (Kleine Au) near the city of Fischamend, the municipality of Fischamend is also implementing a revitalization project as a project partner.

In total, the project will include 13 pilot measures on five rivers in Slovakia and Austria for renaturation, as well as local habitat-shaping interventions for species such as Kingfisher or Dice Snake.

Additional links:

http://www.viadonau.org/en/company/project-database/aktiv/alpine-carpathian-river-corridor
https://www.donauauen.at/

The bank restoration shall be further observed and maintained. After all, the structure should be preserved as long as possible – just as the recently discovered medieval river bank construction in the inner city of Vienna.

What future potential is offered by a transport via Danube and what strategic developments are possible? This question was discussed by the attending experts form the mineral oil and the tanker shipping industry. Attila Heves from MOL Austria and Piotr Zielinski from Lukoil - both companies operate one or more sites with direct access to the Danube River - presented their logistical concept showing an efficient integration of Danube navigation. The challenges of the daily business for a shipping company operating on the Danube were highlighted by Norbert Baumann from Danu Trans. At last Mario Kaufmann from viadonau explained current and future opportunities for electronic reporting and fleet management using River Information Services: a harmonised corridor system for all riparian countries should enable a single reporting for international transports.

During a common discussion, all speakers and participants debated especially about strategic developments like e.g. LNG as fuel and cargo for inland ships. In conclusion of the discussion it became apparent, that such systematic changes of the sector can only be realized in cooperation of industry and logistic service provider.

The initiative “chemical and petrochemical products on inland waterways” has just started. Additional products like chemical fertilizers, various synthetic materials and other chemical products will be discusses in the following expert workshops.

How the development of inland navigation at the Austrian Danube looked like in detail in 2018 and also exciting trends regarding groups of goods, modal split, fairway depths, locking of ships and many other factors can now be brought to home screens, tablets or smartphones. Click here to download.

To make optimum use of the waterway and to better position it for future logistic challenges, a consequent customer orientation is needed – a principle that has become a leading motto for viadonau and the logistic service providers along the Austrian Danube a long time ago – unconditional customer service. At the transport logistic fair viadonau and the IGÖD partners gave the stage to those, who are in close contact with business partners as well as with users of the waterway in their daily business. Which current developments do they perceive in their professional environment? It soon became apparent that the ports at the Austrian Danube are continuously upgrading their logistic and infrastructure services. Thus, the port of Linz is opening up new space with the project ”Neuland” to optimize the port infrastructure and, at the same time, to revive innovatively the port area of Linz and better connect with the locals. However, service optimization is also the winning formula when it comes to locks: Shorter waiting times for navigation and a consequent modernization of communication technologies are improving sustainably the framework conditions for reliable transportation planning on the river. In a word: Variety and diversity of the Danube professionals made sure once again that the Danube performs well at the Isar River.

This data was collected and processed in the frame of the EU-funded project RIS COMEX by project partners from eight Danube riparian states. RIS COMEX aims to offer efficient River Information Services to public authorities and logistic providers in order to facilitate the implementation of transports along the Danube. The published list of bridges was created by the responsible waterway and river information service operators to their best knowledge and belief. viadonau will continue to function as coordinator and update the data within the framework of this international cooperation on a regular basis.

The list of bridges can be accessed here in English and German.

Disclaimer: The final decision regarding the passage under a bridge is subject to the responsibility of the captain. Thus, any claim of liability based on this list of bridges provided by viadonau as service feature is by any means whatsoever excluded and void.

Using the motto “The Danube – A Stream of Energy”, viadonau and the Port of Vienna organised the first out of five regional business-to-business meetings in the framework of the Danube Business Talks in October 2018. The event successfully connected Danube logistics companies and the bioenergy and biomass sector. With speakers from the companies AGRANA, Münzer Bioindustrie, Bulmarket and the Port of Rotterdam the event featured key companies in the field of European biomass logistics. The B2B matchmaking event this marvelous prelude also offered a favourable framework for strengthening the Danube as a logistics axis for biobased cargo.

After another opportunity for a B2B event at the end of 2018 in Bratislava organized by Slovak Shipping and Ports JSC, in January 2019 the MAHART-Freeport Budapest hosted the third stakeholder conference under the motto „DanuBeGreen“. A port visit and fruitful B2B meetings raised expectations for the next event, to be held in Vukovar, Croatia.

The organisers, Croatian Wood Cluster and Port Authority Vukovar, outreached the expectations of the participants from the logistics and biomass sector from entire Croatia and the Danube region by offering an interesting site visit to a large biomass company “Spačva d.d.” and a great conference programme.

The final B2B event, end of March, hosted by Port of Straubing offered a unique opportunity to round up the B2B meeting series. It featured extraordinary speakers, site visits to key companies in the port area and constructive bilateral business meetings.

In total 200 participants visited the B2B meetings organised in five countries. This number confirms the need for neutral cooperation platforms in the field of Danube logistics to initiate new inland waterway transports and to promote a modal shift towards the Danube waterway. Thus viadonau will foster B2B meetings in future and extend this proven concept to other cargo groups together with international partners.

More information on the ENERGY BARGE project:
www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/energy-barge

The island character of the structure was significantly amplified due to this and since then the Danube flows through the trench during mean flows and turns it into a valuable habitat for fish which offers them protection against the waves.

The island itself is covered by vegetation typically for the alluvial forests and offers the animals of the Danube floodplains a place to retreat.

For the deputy governor of Lower Austria, Dr. Stephan Pernkopf (ÖVP), who is also responsible for ecology, the island Wolfsthal is an important contribution to the river restoration in Lower Austria. “I am delighted to see, that another section of the Danube could be renaturated with this project.”

The mayor of Wolfstahl Gerhard Schödinger (ÖVP) is also happy about the successful completion of the project. “Our river bank at the Danube was silting up heavily during the last decades. The revitalization measures do not only lead to an ecological enhancement, but also create a more attractive riparian zone and benefit the fishery territory.

Director of the Donau Auen National Park Edith Klauser emphasizes the interconnection of protection areas along the Danube: “Even though the island Wolfsthal lies outside of the National Park, it means a lot to us. Connecting our protected area with the surrounding area is an important stepping stone for nature. This was also the reason to integrate this project into our DANUBEparksCONNECTED project to make its realization possible.”

Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, general manager of viadonau, the company responsible for the construction implementation: “With the island Wolfsthal another element of our Catalogue of Measures for the Danube to the East of Vienna was implemented. We are working on creating optimal conditions for shipping and ecology at this section of the Danube.

The project was realized in cooperation with the Nationalpark Donau-Auen and the preparations were co-financed by the DANUBEparksCONNECTED project.

The toughest barrier for women on their way to higher diversity in the workplace is often a lack of perception. A high number of professional worlds related to the Danube are still dominated by men. This also applies for the transport sector, where currently only 20 percent of the employees are female. At the same time the events organized in the framework of the Austrian EU Presidency 2018 showed an increasing share of female specialists and top managers in an upcoming transport branch. At the Danube Business Talks as well as at the RIS COMEX Stakeholder Forum in Vienna renowned experts like Désirée Oen (EU coordinator Rhine-Danube-Corridor), Karin de Schepper (Inland Navigation Europe), Catherine Rivoallon (chief executive officer Port de Paris), Vera Hofbauer (Director of Navigation BMK) and Nicolevon Klaveren (Port of Rotterdam) were able to get involved in a competent way. viadonau aims at strengthening this positive development to more diversity and equal opportunities along the Danube. Thus, the company is supporting the EU initiative “Women in Transport” and at the same time is raising awareness of the young generation for working at the Danube. On the annual Vienna Daughter’s Days and the Federal Girls’ Days in the End of April viadonau is traditionally inviting girls to get to know the varied professional world of the company. Experts talk about their everyday working situations, specific education and extensive experience. The focus is on playful discovering, fascinating technical processes and rich nature along the Danube.  viadonau is convinced that attention creates interest and opens new perspectives – for future female logistics specialists, project managers and captains.

In the report on equal opportunities at viadonau 2019 the company is giving insights in important impulses, offers and current developments in order to make possible equal chances for everyone in a varied and constantly changing working world.

Further links:

www.facebok.com/Frauentag
twitter.com/hashtag/frauentag
www.bmnt.gv.at/service/kalender/land/Weltfrauentag.html
www.femtech.at/en/femtechs-database-female-experts (Female expert database)

The initiative Inland Navigation Europe – a network of European waterway managers - contributes to harmonising the needs of the Danube River and other waterways and helps to anchor inland navigation as an environmentally friendly mode of transport in the European Agenda. The main focus is on a clearly defined common goal: the development of the waterway. Therefore it is important to provide targeted information regarding the potential of Danube navigation and, moreover, to anchor it in the future Horizon EU Framework Programme for Research in order to achieve all goals of the National Action Programme Danube by the BMVIT.

Among others, following goals of the lately presented Strategic Research Agenda are of priority: zero-emission, resource efficient economy, sustainable waterway development and improvement in terms of mobility and logistics. To make these goals achievable, investments in research and development from the inland navigation sector, the European Commission and the member states are essential.

Further details on the Strategic Research Agenda

At the turn of the year 2017/18, a strong bank erosion at the inflow opening occurred in direction of the Hollitzer alley. While an old, mostly invisible bank protection is securing the Hollitzer alley from erosion by the side arm, a similar type of protection is missing at the inflow opening on the first 250 meters. This gap is now closed with a for the Danube new kind of construction.

When talking about soil bioengineering measures for river bank protection, it means that plant materials are playing a vital role and that the stabilizing and protecting effects of plants and their roots is used.

At the inflow opening of the Johler Arm, resistant larch and black locust trunks were used as a frame for the terrace shaped construction. Willow fascines – bundles made out of living willow branches – were then incorporated. Finally, the bank protection was covered with Danube gravel. Some of the willows from the fascines will sprout in spring and further strengthen and slowly green the river bank. Additionally, willow cuttings will be planted as well.

The soil bioengineering measure was implemented within the context of the Catalogue of Measures for the Danube to the East of Vienna. The implementation took about a month and was mainly done by the local maintenance team of viadonau. The production of the fascines was done by viadonau who were actively supported by members of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences of Vienna, of the Nationalpark Donau-Auen and of the WWF. In this way the project was also a way of sharing experience about bioengineering measures.

Once again the availability of the waterway was a key topic for representatives of the inland navigation sector, including Wolfgang Lüftner from Lüftner Cruises. The managing director of Lüftner Reisen GmbH noted that an effective measurement and maintenance of the fairway along the entire Danube would help to increase the growth of a sector which is booming anyway. But he also stated that there is quite enough potential left regarding cross-border cooperation. Therefore the Danube countries still need to be encouraged to implement sufficiently high information and maintenance standards. In order to reduce effectively the difference existing between possible capacities and actual transport volume on the Danube, primarily innovations like a consequent move to LNG-fuels, standardised information services and training need to be realised, Otto Schwetz from Pro Danube Austria stated.

There is still potential left for goods that are particularly suitable for waterway transport. In order to create specific incentives for the transport industry, viadonau has started several priority initiatives concerning high and heavy cargo, renewable raw materials, recycling products and building materials in corporation with ports and shipping companies in recent years. The EU funded project ENERGY BARGE is based on the findings from these initiatives and aims at an increased use of bio mass for a sustainable energy production in the Danube region and further at shifting the biomass transport to the Danube waterway. At the Danube Business Talks event the Austrian Danube ports presented a positive development for this sector. Thus, Gerhard Gussmagg from Rhenus Donauhafen Krems reported about 30,000 cubic meters of biomass and cellulose loaded annually and highlighted the continually expanded port infrastructure. The project ENERGY BARGE started in the beginning of 2017 and will run until the middle of 2019 in cooperation with 15 partners from the Danube logistics sector and the bio energy industry. It is co-financed at 85% by the European Regional Development Fund. "Projects like FAIRway Danube, Danube Stream and ENERGY BARGE show that especially in terms of international cooperation a lot has happened. That offers us the opportunity to transfer our high standards across the borders and to develop the Danube River in a common and targeted way", Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, managing director of viadonau, summed up.

Mission for the future
The improvement of cooperation among Danube countries and the willingness of private enterprises to invest in the development of the waterway in recent years increased the importance of the Danube across borders. For a secure future of the river as a sustainably developed and prosperous living and economic space, further impulses at both national and international level are required. Thus Manfred Seitz (Pro Danube International) and Theresia Hacksteiner (European Barge Union) presented a "Draft Findings Paper" to Norbert Hofer and Désirée Oen containing requests of the economic stakeholders along the Danube and declarations of the umbrella organisations European Barge Union, European Skippers' Organisation, Pro Danube International and Pro Danube Austria. The mission is clearly defined: To build the tomorrow of the Danube upon the successes of today.

The current annual report on Danube navigation in Austria 2017 ensures a clear view of the waterway. Click here to download now.

Danube STREAM is a project funded by the EU in the frame of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme.

„A Stream of Energy“
Bioenergy meets Danube logistics. With appropriate framework conditions the strengths of the Danube can be utilised in a meaningful and efficient way – consequently the spectrum of the groups of goods suitable for waterway transport is growing. This time the focus is on new markets for Danube logistics in the European bioenergy and biomass sector. Thus experts from the industry and logistics sector will be analysing promising perspectives for biomass transport on the waterway. The aspects covered will range from raw materials to end products like biodiesel or bioethanol.

Passenger navigation for the first time part of the agenda
This time passenger shipping will also be thematically covered in the event to provide insights in current developments of this fast growing industry. The goal is to identify and utilise available potentials and trends together with important national and international players. In addition, a field trip offers a practical insight into the booming passenger shipping sector on the Danube.

The Austrian EU Presidency offers a favourable framework to develop border-crossing solutions for strengthening the Danube transport axis. In addition to the international exchange between companies, authorities and politicians, the B2B-platform Danube Business Dating provides once again opportunities for establishing new business contacts.

Following high-level speakers will turn Vienna into a hotspot of current developments on the Danube waterway on the 10^th and 11^th October:

• NORBERT HOFER, Austrian Federal Minister, Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (welcome note)
• DÉSIRÉE OEN, Policy Advisor to Rhine-Danube Coordinator, European Commission
• HANS-PETER HASENBICHLER, Managing Director, viadonau
• GERHARD GUSSMAGG, Managing Director, Rhenus Donauhafen Krems
• WOLFGANG LÜFTNER, Managing Director, Dr. W. Lüftner Reisen GmbH
• VIATCHESLAV VDOVITCHENKO, CEO, First-DDSG Logistics Holding GmbH
• LJUBIŠA MIHAJLOVIĆ, Director, Directorate for Inland Waterways Plovput
• THOMAS BOGLER, Vice President Nautic and Technic, Viking River Cruises AG
• FRITZ LEHR, President, Pro Danube Austria (PDA) / Commercial Management, Port of Vienna
• WALTER SCHRAGEN, Head of Raw Material Procurement & Logistics, AGRANA Stärke GmbH
• MLADEN STANKOV, Trade Manager, Bulmarket DM Ltd.
• GREGOR REINDL, General Manager, Münzer Bioindustrie GmbH
• NICOLE VAN KLAVEREN, Business Manager Dry Bulk & Energy, Port of Rotterdam Authority
• GERD KRÄMER, Managing Director, Central Danube Region Marketing & Development GmbH
• BURGHART LELL, Director Operations, Avalon Waterways
• ROBERT STRAUBHAAR, CEO/President, River Advice AG
• DANIEL JARNEA, Head of Marketing Department, National Company “Maritime Ports Administration” S.A. Constanta
• RADU COMANICI, CEO, Danube Cruises Romania SRL

Register now!
You wish a clear view at current trends on the Danube waterway? Register now! Here you can get more details on the event and information how to register.

An initiative of the Danube action programme of the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit).

The Danube Business Talks 2018 are organised in close cooperation with the transnational project ENERGY BARGE. A project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF).

Conclusion: Due to the customised preparation in the framework of Danube SKILLS the project partners are on a good way to position themselves as a central contact point for requests regarding Danube logistics in their countries – for a free and neutral information service along the entire Danube.

Until December 2017, significant progress was made:

• National Action Plans, which provide information on the fairway conditions and planned measures, were updated in October 2015, May and October 2016 as well as in May 2017. Those reports also provided the factual basis for the meeting of Transport Ministers in Rotterdam on 20 June 2016.
• The first surveying vessel was baptised on 25 October 2017 in Vukovar (Croatia). The vessel provides more accurate data for the fairway users and for activities of the waterway authorities. Additional vessels for Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia will be delivered later this year. Four marking vessels are currently under construction and will be delivered in the 2nd half of 2018. In their operation, they will support the signalling of the fairway.  Nine gauging stations are currently being set up in Croatia. For nearly 30 additional gauging stations, all preparations for the public procurement have been made so that their operation can start later in 2018.
• On basis of the pre-feasibility study on the rehabilitation of the Gabčíkovo locks (Slovakia), which was prepared within FAIRway Danube, a Connecting Europe Facility project worth 145 Mil.€ was approved by the European Commission and the tenders for works were launched in May 2017.
• Following three Steering and Advisory Committee meetings in Brussels, a series of national user fora was organised in order to obtain feedback from relevant private and public stakeholders.

In 2018, the project will not only focus on finalizing the construction of the vessels and installation of the gauging stations, but also on providing the current and harmonized information about shallow sections. This way, FAIRway Danube will provide a valuable contribution to the realisation of the Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan for the Danube and its navigable tributaries.

More about FAIRway Danube

Contact: 
Andreas Bäck (Project Coordinator) via donau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH Donau-City-Straße 1, A-1220 Vienna Tel: +43 (0) 50 4321-1609
Email: andreas.baeck[at]viadonau.org    

Claudiu Dutu (Project Dissemination) AFDJ – River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati Galati, 32 Portului Street, Romania Tel: +40 (36) 460016
Email: claudiu.dutu[at]afdj.ro 

Profound and reliable data are essential for effective measures. Hence PlasticFreeDanube focuses on extending the knowledge about sources and transport behaviour of macro plastic (> 5 mm) in the Danube River and its environmental impacts. Standardised methods to monitor and evaluate pollution by macro plastic shall be developed which should then lead to pilot measures and finally to an action plan against plastic pollution in and along the Danube. Important starting points are thereby capacity building and awareness raising activities of the project.  

The bilateral project PlasticFreeDanube funded by the EU (Interreg SK-AT) is implemented by five partners from Austria (i.e. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) – Institute of Waste Management (ABF) & Institute of Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering (IWHW), viadonau, Donau-Auen National Park) and Slovakia (i.e. Repanet, o.z. and PI SAS – Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences) and 17 strategic partners. 

More about PlasticFreeDanube
European Circular Economy Action Plan
European strategy for plastics

The focus of this workshop was once more set onto the experts from the private sector. During the discussion on the current logistics requirements of the building material industry the participants identified new possibilities for a modal shift towards inland navigation. Dr. Auer, managing director of EHG Ennshafen, highlighted the comprehensive services dedicated for construction material, which are offered by the transhipment and storage providers located in the port. Mr. Ockermüller from GeroCret clarified the perfect suitability of concrete parts produced by his company – also including high & heavy products – for inland waterway transport. GeroCret’s production facility in Langenlebarn offers direct access to the Danube River. The company is considering an upgrade of its transhipment site in the long term.  

Mr. Reithofer presented a strategic outlook on possible inland waterway transports of raw construction materials by the company Bernegger. The company Bernegger already gained experience with transports on the Danube in the past. Inland navigation will play a more crucial role in the future, particularly due to environmental regulations and guidelines becoming more stringent (especially in urban areas). To close, Mr. Holzhammer and Mr. Ockenfels outlined transhipment possibilities for building materials in the port of Antwerp offering the gate to international transport connections.

Building a bridge to the previous working initiative dealing with recycling products, a technical visit took place at the TBS GmbH, a subsidiary of the company Bernegger. This enterprise operates a storage facility for Bernegger and a waste treatment plant for shredder residues in the Port of Enns.

The unanimous conclusion of the workshop: Especially in times of increasing cost pressure and upcoming environmental regulations, break bulk offers big potential for a modal shift towards inland navigation. The next expert workshop will take place in spring 2018 and will focus on another cargo group: roll on/roll off transports of construction machines.  

Concrete prospects after the workshop 
At the mid-point of the initiative “Building materials on inland waterways” viadonau can announce a significant success. On 13th December 2017 concrete blocks produced by the company GeroCret Ockermüller Betonwaren GmbH were loaded with a mobile crane on an inland vessel at the transhipment site in Langenlebarn and were shipped successfully to Ybbs, the location of the customer, Schaufler GmbH. This trial run was initiated by a business contact at the building material workshop and opens the way to an increased use of inland waterways. The companies Prangl (transhipment with a mobile crane) and PAN EUROPE LINE (chartering) provided a smooth loading of the inland vessel.

The focus of FAIRway Danube is to provide current and harmonized information on shallow sections, water levels and water level forecasts. Available depths shall be used optimally by adapting the location of the waterway to the current riverbed conditions. This way, FAIRway Danube is aiming at the improvement of the fairway conditions of the Danube and its navigable tributaries.

The ship's godmother Karla Peijs emphasized that putting into service of "Connecting Europe 1" is of high symbolic importance for the broader development of the European project. The vessel will provide an invaluable service to the whole inland waterway community for many years to come. The Transport Minister of Croatia Oleg Butković also stressed the potential of waterway and added that the investments in the Danube and in the Sava are essential elements to improve the competitiveness of industry and tourism.

Details on FAIRway Danube: The project FAIRway Danube is the first implementation phase of the "Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan for the Danube and its navigable tributaries" which has been developed in the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).

The Master Plan was endorsed by the Danube Ministers of Transport in December 2014. It aims at reaching and ensuring good navigation conditions throughout the year by providing a minimum level of service. FAIRway Danube is carried out jointly in 6 countries: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. The actions are co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility programme of the European Union.

During the project term (July 2015 - June 2020), FAIRway Danube will significantly increase the knowledge on shallow sections of the Danube waterway, so that the fairway routing can be optimized and national rehabilitation measures drafted. Furthermore, FAIRway Danube prepares for the full deployment of the Master Plan by providing the foundation for supplementary and additional projects.

Further information about the Fairway Danube project can be found in the project database and on the project website.

The Common Danube Reports, developed in the EU co-funded project NEWADA, have been provided since 2012. They are a tool to offer easy-to read key data to all interested parties.

The Common Danube Report can be downloaded here.

In Austria, online platforms such as the Danube Logistics Portal or the DoRIS website as well as the Manual on Danube Navigation are already part of the established information services. An optimized information exchange along the entire Danube will directly support the industry and the logistics sector in planning inland waterway transport and will contribute to an improvement of transport safety. In the long run, the awareness for potentials linked to Danube navigation will increase and an effective modal shift towards the waterway will become possible.

During the last Danube SKILLS Meeting in mid-September in Vienna, the project partners developed a joint work programme in which the concrete services of future one-stop-shops were defined. The work programme will be implemented jointly over the next two years by all project partners.

A high service level at Danube SKILLS goes hand in hand with common nautical training standards in inland navigation. In addition to the provision of market-neutral information on the Danube logistics sector, Danube SKILLS aims at uniform and international recognized minimum requirements for nautical training. Therefore, jointly developed nautical education standards are an important goal to obtain certificates which are transnationally accepted.

The project partners will therefore not only contribute to the economic development in the Danube region, but also to an increase of quality regarding a competent and safety-conscious education for the occupational group.

Further information is available on the project website, Twitter and Facebook.

Mr. Schlagitweit’s presentation outlined the growing European market for wood pellets and its potential for cargo on the Danube not only because of the growing production in the Black Sea Region but also because of the increasing demand which has to be satisfied through imports.

Mr. Jina gave an overview to the company First-DDSG Holding GmbH. He demonstrated the routes of transport on the Danube waterway and also gave an impression on the dimensions and capacity of different vessels used by his company. Through this presentation, the project consortium has been given an impression of the possibilities of inland waterway transport and its limitations.

The presentations of these stakeholders have shown how important the transport of goods on the Danube is and that the project meets current requirements.

Project details
A large amount of biomass is available along the Danube with the potential to improve energy security and foster sustainable energy production. However, currently biomass is mainly processed locally due to a lack of secure, efficient and environmentally-friendly logistic solutions. The ENERGY BARGE project for the first time will build on synergies between the bioenergy industry and the Danube logistics sector. For this purpose ENERGY BARGE will analyse requirements regarding transport, handling and storage of the biomass feedstock, identify promising biomass products for inland waterway transports, initiate concrete transports via Danube through B2B events and implement pilot actions in selected Danube ports.  

The ENERGY BARGE team consists of 23 project partners (15 PP and 8 ASP) from the bioenergy industry and Danube logistics sector from Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Italy ensuring a broad geographic coverage and the participation of partners from all EU countries along the Danube. The project duration is 30 months: January 2017 – June 2019.

Further detailed information about the project can be found here.

• Environment and Energy Efficiency
• Vehicles & Vessels - Design, Development and Production
• Advanced Propulsion Systems
• Smart Urban Mobility & Logistics
• People Mobility - Systems and Services
• Freight Transport and Logistics
• Transport Infrastructure
• Connected and Automated Transport
• Digital Technologies for Transportation
• Safe, Secure and Resilient Transport Systems
• Human dimension in transport
• Socio-Economics, Innovation and Policy

The topics of the contributions will refer to all modes of transport: road, rail, waterborne and aviation. Moreover, here will be presentations and discussion on cross-modal themes and on topics that are not mode-specific.

The deadline for submission is 21 March 2017.

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words, the submission will be in English. For more information, please visit http://www.traconference.eu/call-for-abstracts/ 

Within the first 18 months, significant steps were made:

• National Action Plans, which provide information on the fairway conditions and planned projects, were updated in October 2015 and May 2016. The most recent update provided the factual basis for targeted actions aligned at the meeting of Transport Ministers in Rotterdam on 20 June 2016.
• FAIRway Danube has well advanced with the specifications of surveying and marking vessels as well as 39 gauging stations. The corresponding tenders worth around 4 Mil.€ were already launched, thus the pilot activities can start in 2017/2018. The first surveying vessels will deliver high-quality data as of summer 2017 already.
• FAIRway Danube prepared the pre-feasibility study on the rehabilitation of the Gabčíkovo locks, which was one of the enablers of a 145 Mn.€ works project (out of which 122 Mil.€ from the European Union). The modernisation of the lock enables the permanent operation of both lock chambers thereby ensuring more efficient locking procedures for the shipping sector.
• Following the international kick-off meeting in Brussels on 9 February 2016, national user fora were organised in Slovakia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria in order to obtain feedback from private and public stakeholders.

Please save the date already for the next user fora:

• 21 June 2017 in Bratislava
• 17 May 2017 in Budapest
• 30 May 2017 in Ruse
• 13 June 2017 in Constanta

The next project year will focus on finalizing the specification of the vessels and gauging stations and start the pilot operation on selected sections of the Danube.  This way, FAIRway Danube will provide a valuable contribution to the realisation of the Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan for the Danube and its navigable tributaries.

Key project facts

• Duration: 07/2015 – 06/2020
• Beneficiaries and project partners: www.fairwaydanube.eu/contact/national-contact-points/
• Budget: EUR 23.4 Mn
• EU-Financing (Connecting Europe Facility, CEF): EUR 19.6 Mn

Further information is available here.

• Strategic Developments
• Technical Developments and Updates
• Current RIS Services vs. future DINA framework
• RIS in Flanders: Live demonstration of VisuRIS
• Moderated discussion towards a Digital Inland Waterway Area

The RIS Week was hosted by Promotie Binnenvaart Vlaandern vzw, Waterwegen en Zeekanaal NV and nv De Scheepvaart and co-organized by the RIS Week Support team of viadonau. The full documentation of the Common Issues Meeting can be downloaded on www.ris.eu/news in PDF format, including all presentations and the minutes of meeting.

The next RIS week will be held in May 2017 (8-12) in Belgrade, Serbia, organized by the Directorate for inland waterways PLOVPUT in cooperation with viadonau.

(risweek[at]viadonau.org)

A quick and comprehensive overview on the “Danube Logistics Portal” will now be given in a 1 minute video. The video is available on the viadonau YouTube channel.

bmvit is committed to assisting companies with the environmentally friendly modernisation of their fleets and supporting them with the implementation of new technologies. Direct grants are available for the refitting of ships with environmentally friendly equipment and machinery. Funding is processed by viadonau - Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH.

For more information please click here.

The hardcover version is still available for those who want this important work of reference at reach any time. You can order it by clicking the link above and send an email to place your order.

Fostering strengths and integrating usefully into the European transport network
Inland navigation is efficient and versatile. When it comes to high loading capacities, it is top of its class. Yet, the outstanding transport potential of inland navigation is rarely fully exploited. Transport companies and skippers agree: Highly fluctuating fairway conditions, but especially shallow waters often drive to delicate compromise when it comes to loading volumes. Thus, in order for the waterway to play its strengths optimally, a responsible and appropriate maintenance and a modern and seamless monitoring is required. The National Action Programme Danube of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport Innovation and Technology (bmvit) has made it a priority to increasingly promote the holistic development of the waterway in accordance with the goals set by the European Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR). Economic, environmental and safety interests are thereby connected in a solution-oriented manner in order to strengthen the prospects for the sustainable use of the Danube. Ursula Zechner, Head of Section IV Transport at the bmvit, explained in her opening address at the Danube Business Talks, that in order to achieve the most reliable availability of the waterway, proactive and precise measures are of utmost importance: in an exchange with conference participants, the traffic expert put it in a nutshell:"2015 has demonstrated that we must more than ever, think of the Danube waterway in terms of sections. By examinining even more closely where and in which areas development steps are necessary, we can increase the safety of use of the Danube on the long run, thus strengthening incentives for its increased inclusion in multimodal transport chains. "

Representatives from the sector also voiced again their demands for an even tighter network of transport modes to make optimal use of the advantages of each system. This view was also expressed by Johannes Hödlmayer, entrepreneur and Chairman of Transport and Logistics Division of the Upper Austria Economic Chamber, who emphasised that only an economically viable integration of all modes of transport could bring benefits for the Danube.

Finding building blocks of stability
"Build on the Danube Corridor" - the motto of this year's edition of the Danube Business Talks was also the message of the Conference. And the future of the Danube can only be built on a solid foundation. This clear message was conveyed by viadonau CEO Hans-Peter Hasenbichler: "Efficient waterway management and traffic management are only a few of the important building blocks that we need to ensure a stable development along the entire waterway. Tailor-made as much as practicable services for all waterway users, the effective use of funding but also innovative information platforms for logistics, such as for instance the brand new Danube Logistics Portal, are essential prerequisites for lasting future perspectives on the Danube. " A responsible development towards high standards can therefore not end at national borders .

On the waterway like on rails
The development of the Danube as a reliable transport route is a joint project that goes beyond borders. With the approval in 2014 of the Master Plan for the joint maintenance of the Danube, the Danube countries agreed to develop harmonized standards for waterway infrastructure - a milestone on the path to higher transport safety along the entire Danube. Marc Vanderhaegen , expert on ports and inland waterways at DG-MOVE of the European Commission, explained that "with the Master Plan, we have set things in motion in one of the key development areas of the European transport network and thus are creating new opportunities for the pan-European transport industry". The Master Plan will not only increase the availability of information on the waterway, it will also provide valuable current data in order to take even more targeted measures on waterway management along the entire Danube.

New Markets- optimizing the strengths of Danube navigation
Where does the Danube flex its muscles? Although inland vessels are known for carrying high volumes, some groups of goods are even more suitable for transport on waterways. One promising area of ​​focus for IWT in Austria is certainly recycled products. In the Upper Austrian Ennshafen Port alone, between 40000-50000 tons of recycled products are handled on average annually. Especially with high and heavy and bulky commodity groups, the competitive edge of IWT is also synonym with relieving congested roads. Werner Auer, Managing Director of Ennshafen Port, confirmed that with its exceptional capacities, the Danube waterway can make a significant contribution to achieving the climate objectives of Austria - a 60 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions until 2050. A precondition for this is, however, an even closer infrastructure connection between ports and industrial plants but also with global markets. The future of the Danube waterway is mainly a question of common perspectives.

For the future of the Danube- Let's network!
Looking for new business opportunities and to develop new ideas? You need a good chat - and preferably face to face. And the high interest in current Danube issues was also felt with the high delegate rate at the so-called Danube Business Dating, the business to business pillar of Danube Business Talks. In 20-minute Elevator Pitch-style meetings, the participants made ​​new business contacts, presented their portfolio or used the opportunity to find out if they can add Danube water to their business mix. While the innovative communication platform Danube Business Talks took the participants to Linz this time, the offer is always more innovative for a lively exchange of ideas, expertise from different perspectives and experiences, and again, the Talks were hailed a great success. In addition to burning questions about the future of the Danube in the European transport network and new market opportunities, viadonau Managing Director summarized that the event highlighted the importance of international cooperation and the clear signals that the full potential of the Danube as a competitive transport route can only be unveiled with a joint approach: "We still have a lot of work to do. But it is also in difficult times that the robustness of a transport system can be proven. The watchword must therefore be: develop together according to clearly defined standards and exploit the strengths of the Danube where it pays off most not only as an economic, but also as an ecological asset for the future", so Hasenbichler.

Danube navigation now - Everything you need to know is packed in the new Annual Report of viadonau, released just in time for the Danube Business Talks. Check out the most important key facts and figures on Danube navigation in Austria at a glance - order now or download here: www.viadonau.org

Click here to access the Danube Business Talks 2016 photo gallery and here to share your feedback on the Conference with us!

Good practice manual on inland waterway maintenance
Continuous maintenance is key for competitive waterway infrastructure. In many countries however, small “everyday” maintenance works do not get the attention they need. Platina 2 attested a lot of potential to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of waterway maintenance in Europe and thus fostered knowledge exchange in this field. It brought experts on waterway maintenance throughout Europe together to discuss the topic and prepare a “Good Practice Manual on Inland Waterway Maintenance” for waterway administrations.

Good Practice Manual on Inland Waterway Maintenance

How to attract new markets in the Danube region
The study shows the unused potential of inland navigation in the Danube region and the supportive measures that could increase the use of inland waterway transport for promising cargo groups. High & heavy cargo, renewable resources and recycling products show a high affinity towards IWT, but also other goods proved a high potential. Supportive measures are for example awareness raising about inland navigation and promising markets, promoting industrial locations in the vicinity of ports or most important, ensuring good navigation conditions along the waterways.

Report on market potential and up-take measures for the Danube Region

How to attract continental cargo in North-West Europe
Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) already has a large share in transport in North-West Europe. But if you check the numbers on continental transport, IWT is virtually non-existing even though there is solid potential and connections are getting better and better. According to the analysis, the main reason for the lack of uptake of IWT in continental transport lies in the limited offer of containers suitable for inland navigation. Most of the container transport goes from the seaports directly to the hinterland. Obviously, there is a missing link between the transport demand and the supply currently offered by IWT.

Towards more reliable emission data for the calculation of external cost of IWT
A review of the quality of datasets used to calculate emissions and external costs of Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) at EU level (€/tkm) resulted in the identification of data that is needed and data that is available. This allowed the PLATINA 2 partners to identify the knowledge gaps regarding the external costs of emissions to air. Based on these findings they drafted recommendations on how to close the main gaps and asked the sector to validate them.

Greening toolkit, what´s next?
The greening toolkit  shows robust greening technologies and their return on investment as well as potential emission reductions. This easy-to-use online tool allows ship and vessel owners to explore how they can make their ship compliant with future emission regulations. At the same time, the tool allows producers to showcase their greening technologies and also policy makers to gain insight on the cost of greening options for different vessel types and operations.

Greening Toolkit

Promotion of IWT in logistics education and simulator standards
Education is very important to ensure that people who are capable to run inland waterway transport are available. To guarantee sufficient workers for the future of IWT poses a challenge to Human Resources in the sector. Works within PLATINA 2 focused on three subjects: elaboration of technical standards for full mission ship-handling simulators, a concept for electronic service record books and logbook and learning material for future logistics decision makers.

What is next?
The joined efforts should not stop with PLATINA 2. Follow-up activities have already started - such as the Prominent project, the IWT innovation platform, a market potential study, the work on the Digital Inland Navigation Area (DINA) and a study on the good navigation status. But also the next steps in a 2 to 3 year time perspective need to be planned in order to be prepared for new trends that are expected to shape IWT in the future. So why not start to reflect on a possible PLATINA 3 as of now?

The Conference Report of the PLATINA 2 Final Event provides a summary of all speeches, presentations and workshops. It gives insight on the key results of PLATINA 2 and the discussions on what topics to take up in the future.

For further information about NAIADES and PLATINA please visit: www.naiades.info

A project funded from the Horizon 2020 programme, PROMINENT has been addressing the key needs for technological development, as well as the barriers to innovation and greening in the European inland navigation sector. PROMINENT thereby is fully in line with the objectives of the European action programme NAIADES-II and ultimately aiming at providing solutions which make inland navigation an ever more competitive alternative to road transport in terms of air pollutant emissions by 2020 and beyond. In parallel, PROMINENT aims at further decreasing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of inland waterway transport an area where we already have a strong advantage compared to road transport.

PROMINENT will focus on:

• Massive transition towards efficient and clean vessels
• Certification and monitoring of emission performance and development of innovative regimes
• Harmonisation and modernisation of professional qualifications and the stimulation of the further integration of IWT into sustainable transport chains.

What's different with PROMINENT?
The PROMINENT partners have found broad support among political and commercial decision-makers in the field of inland navigation. Through its direct access to relevant industrial stakeholders and Member States, the consortium has obtained significant backup needed to perform the work.

In PROMINENT, the involvement of stakeholders plays a key role. Consultation with the project Advisory Board, presentation of project results in expert groups, as well as interviews with representatives of the shipping industry - users and shippers - will verify the results. Fleet families, operational profiles, the selection of the greening technologies and concepts, as well as the assessment of technology-specific barriers and facilitating factors, all these will be assessed by the stakeholders.

Role of viadonau
The viadonau-led work package, State-of-Play, under internationally renowned expert Juha Schweighofer was actually concluded during the first quarter of the project lifetime. Here, the exceptional team work of all beneficiaries involved allowed for provision of knowledge and giving direction for the work in PROMINENT by analyzing promising greening technologies and concepts and match-making them with the characteristics of the European inland fleet in order to identify the concepts that carry the biggest greening impact potential.

More in detail, the objectives of this important work package were the following:

• identify typical fleet families and operational profiles on European inland waterways and canals
• identify and assess available greening technologies and concepts
  select the best available greening technologies and concepts concerning their effects, impact and availability
• prepare knowledge on barriers and facilitating factors to uptake of these best available technologies as basis for developing counter-measures by public and private stakeholders
• analyse barriers for innovation uptake

Through the actions of this important work package, groups of comparable vessels - known as fleet families - and their operational profiles were identified and their cost structures analysed. As a next step, the best greening technologies and concepts to raise energy efficiency and lower emissions were assessed regarding their effects, range of impact and their availability for the most relevant European fleet families. This assessment allowed conclusions on the best available technologies in the short term and their selection for further elaboration within PROMINENT. Although many of the identified technologies are expected to have strong advantageous greening effects, they are not automatically taken up by market players. An investigation is underway to help identify the reasons behind this skepticism. Once the cues are collected, active measures will be set to overcome them.

More information on PROMINENT can be found here.
Click here for the latest project Newsletter.

• Since 2009 the "Blue Pages" have been providing a detailed overview of shipping companies and brokers from the entire Danube region. The free of charge online directory has been enhanced over the years with new features and has become a highly valuable source of information for all those who want to include inland waterways in their transport chain. The new layout and updated company profiles offer higher efficiency and an optimized usability.
• The "Danube Ports" include profiles of more than 60 ports and transhipment sites along the Danube from Kelheim to the Black Sea. Information on port facilities, storage capacities, logistics providers and relevant contacts are available in an easy-to-use and clearly structured form.
• The "Travel Time Calculator" is a tool for calculating the estimated travel time between two ports on the Rhine-Main-Danube axis.
• The "Transport Planner” is a new tool, which combines all functions and information in the portals "The Blue Pages", "Danube Ports" and "Travel Time Calculator".

The new portal can be accessed at: www.danube-logistics.info

Eligible beneficiaries are European inland waterway transport companies whose head office is in Austria. In order to be eligible for funding, the vessel that presents the characteristics stated above has to pass the Austrian Danube at least 10 times a year. The state aid program is conducted in annual Calls.

Deadline for applications to the current Call is 13 May 2016.

The application process is conducted by viadonau. Further information can be found here.

Further Links:
European Funding Database for Inland Navigation

In this perspective, the international initiative with the main objective to foster the coordinated rehabilitation of bottlenecks is supported by the European Commission within the CEF funding program. The focus of FAIRway Danube is to provide current and harmonized information about shallow sections, water levels and water level forecasts. Available depths will be used optimally by adapting the location of the waterway to the current riverbed conditions. In parallel, FAIRway Danube is aiming at preparing the harmonized rehabilitation of the Danube and its navigable tributaries. Pilot operations of new harmonised services for waterway users, the provision of feedback and the contribution to technical specifications or operational concepts are integral parts of FAIRway Danube. A key objective is also the involvement of stakeholders for approval and validation of results by means of pilots.

In short, FAIRway Danube is thriving to contribute to an increased safety, efficiency and environmental friendliness of inland navigation by setting the following steps:

• Update national action plans regularly (twice a year, October and May)
• Concerted purchase of advanced equipment for hydrological services (gauging stations, surveying and marking vessels)
• Carry out pilot activities and evaluate results:

      o Collection of basic data for all critical sections of the Danube waterway

      o Analysis and evaluation of the data collected as basis for coherent monitoring
         of the navigation status

      o Harmonised water level forecasts

      o Optimized routing of the fairway based on current depth measurements

• Develop innovative approaches in the area of aerial monitoring, modern Aids to Navigation, and any other supporting tools for fairway rehabilitation

Partners and beneficiaries:
Austria: Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and via donau-Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH (viadonau)
Slovakia: Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic and Waterborne Transport Development Agency (ARVD)
Hungary: Ministry of National Development (NFM), Nemzeti Infrastruktura Fejleszto Zrt. (NIF) and General Directorate of Water Management (OVF)
Croatia: Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure and Agency for Inland Waterways (AVP)
Bulgaria: Executive Agency "Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River" (EAEMDR)
Romania: River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati (AFDJ); Administration of the Navigable Canals (ACN)

Key facts:
Duration: 07/2015 - 06/2020
Budget: EUR 23.4 Mn
EU-Financing (CEF): EUR 19.6 Mn

Contact:  
Andreas Bäck (Project Coordinator)
via donau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-
Gesellschaft mbH Donau-City-Straße 1, A-1220 Vienna
Tel: +43 (0) 50 4321-1609
Email: andreas.baeck[at]viadonau.org     

Claudiu Dutu (Project Dissemination)
AFDJ - River Administration of the Lower Danube
Galati, 32 Portului Street, Romania
Tel: +40 (36) 460016
Email: claudiu.dutu[at]afdj.ro 

Where can I find further information?   
Further information about the funding scheme, eligible costs and beneficiaries can be found on the website of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology. Furthermore, for Inland Navigation, the NAIADES Funding Database provides further information on funding and subsidy schemes.

CoRISMa the future of modern European corridor management

The CoRISMa participating countries, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg see it as their mission to improve the use and interconnection of RIS systems with a strong focus on stakeholder needs (ports, logistics and transport companies, shippers and skippers). This project was coordinated by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment - Rijkswaterstaat -, funded by the European Commission under the Department for Transport and Mobility (DG MOVE) of the European Union. viadonau took over the coordination of the Austrian contribution to the project and the communication and dissemination of the project and made tremendous contributions especially in the fields of lock management, logistics services and consolidating a vast range of information on fairway and traffic information.

CoRISMa has applied an integrative approach for its pilot concepts, one that was developed for the various transport planning and logistics challenges of a modern corridor management. These were carefully drafted in accordance with the needs of the stakeholders for all affected areas, starting from lock management until traffic planning and facilitated access to vessel positioning data and a new revolutionary cross-border data model of the traffic network.

The advantages of a harmonized and internationally accessible information system for infrastructure, traffic and logistics on the European waterways is obvious for the project partners. Through the usability of the information services by private and public interest groups (Logistics partners, skippers, fleet operators, shipping companies and authorities). This is a vital step towards a harmonized corridor management for the waterways of Europe.

Marc Vanderhaegen, DG MOVE Policy Officer for Port and Inland Navigation, expressed his enthusiasm about the constructive cooperation of the project partners and underlined again: "viadonau has been for many years a visionary driving force behind the integration of eastern European countries in a continental RIS network. We have succeeded in creating long-term Incentives for commonly used waterways and hence sustainably reinforced and enhanced the role of inland navigation as a highly efficient transport mode. This could only be achieved thanks to the successful international cooperation of all partners in all aspects of the project, ranging from communication to technical expertise."

Harmonized technolgies as foundation for the future

viadonau and its fellow CoRISMa project partners want to be part of the future of RIS in Europe, actively and sustainably. After the successful completion of the project on 11 December at the Cruise Terminal in Antwerp and two very intensive years, the international experts are already focusing on the next important development phases. The new challenge will be the technical harmonization of the information systems but also possibilities of combining maritime and inland navigation technologies along with modernizing the European waterway network.

CoRISMa Project partners:
Netherlands: Rijkswaterstaat, Ministerium für Wasser, Transport und Umwelt (RWS) Germany: Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur (BMVI), Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt - Außenstelle Süd (GDWS, ASt Süd) Austria: via donau - Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH (viadonau), Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie (bmvit)
Belgium: nv De Scheepvaart, Departement van Mobiliteit en Openbare Werken Luxembourg: Ministère du Développement durable et des Infrastructures

Find out more on the CoRISMa project in this animation film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWeN_Py_oA4

While the morning session and a part of the afternoon was devoted to electronic reporting or in expert language ERI, the afternoon session focused on the CoRISMa project and the evolution of RIS until 2020. A well-balanced agenda including keynote speeches, expert group reports, project and technical development updates as well as discussions made the participants look forward to the next steps and of course the next RIS week in June 2016 in Prague.

The agenda highlights were the following:

• Strategic Developments
• Technical Developments and Updates
• Latest Trends in electronic reporting
• Intermediate Results of RIS-enabled Corridor Management (CoRISMa) – Towards the Creation of a Single Common Information Corridor
• The Evolution of RIS until 2020  

The presentations of the Common Issues Meeting in Lille can be downloaded here in PDF format.

The next RIS Week will be held in Prague  and hosted by a consortium of the Czech Ministry of Transport, the Czech State Navigation Authority and the Czech Waterway Directorate between the 13th and 17th June 2016.  

Source and Editorial: www.ris.eu

viadonau experts provided interesting insights on the areas of Communication and Stakeholder-Management, Renaturation and fairway maintenance as well as on the implementation and enhancement of River Information Services in Austria and Europe. This premiere event for Smart Rivers in Latin America was held in a positive atmosphere with a world-wide attendance discussing the future of a promising market - the active and responsible, efficient and modern waterborne transport sector.
"Smart Rivers in Buenos Aires was an opportunity for viadonau to exchange views on an international level and for the first time in Latin America", summarizes viadonau Managing Director Hans-Peter Hasenbichler.

A view also shared by Geoffrey Caude, PIANC President and Representative of the French Ministry of the Environment. "Smart Rivers halted for the first time in Latin America - a milestone thanks to which we opened our doors to newcomers", said Caude.

The Austrian delegation, comprising of representatives of viadonau, Port of Vienna, Pro Danube Austria, A3PS and Pro Danube International, also had the opportunity - upon invitation by the Austrian Ambassador to Argentina,  Karin Proidl, to meet former Austrian Chancelor Viktor Klima and discuss with him the national and international development of the inland waterway as siginificant mode of transportation.

SMART Rivers Conferences
Held for the first time in 2005 in Pittsburgh (USA), SMART Rivers is a biennal Conference which every two years brings together professionals and experts involved in river transport around the world. Since 2011, SMART Rivers is under the patronage of PIANC.

PIANC
PIANC is an umbrella organization which joins together 65 countries and about 450 companies, organizations and institutions as well as 2000 individual members worldwide. Founded in 1885, it is the oldest international organization for technical and scientific issues in inland navigation.

The 8th PIANC - SMART Rivers Conference is scheduled for September 2017 in St. Louis, United States.

The book of abstracts can be downloaded here and the papers can be found here.
Links: http://www.pianc.org.ar/_stage/index_in.php; http://www.pianc.org/

Source and Editorial: viadonau

Besides providing valuable information the manual will serve as a basis for discussion between control authorities and is considered as first step towards harmonised control procedures.

The practical manual results from joint efforts of the two priority areas of the European Strategy for the Danube Region dealing with inland navigation and security. Contents were provided by the control authorities themselves.

We appreciate your feedback on the manual and welcome any improvements you may suggest.

Download the Manual on border controls along the Danube and its navigable tributaries.

Share your opinion with us:
Technical Secretariat Priority Area 1a of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region
Donau-City-Straße 1
1220 Vienna
Austria
E-mail: PA1a[at]viadonau.org

Booking requests from Austria are to be made over Schachinger Logistik GmbH. SLOVAKIA FREIGHT a.s. is the agent for Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Booking requests from Germany, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are managed by the Donau Star BG EOOD.  

Useful contacts:  

Donau Star BG EOOD
Phone.: +359  82 82 51 25 (Bulgaria), + 49 941 603 62 – 0 (Germany)
Fax: +359  82 82 51 21 (Bulgaria), +49 941 603 62 – 20 (Germany)
Email: ruse-bg[at]donaustar.com, info[at]donaustar.com   

Schachinger Logistik GmbH
Phone: +43 7221 707 – 352
Mobile +43 664 28 50 262
Fax: +43 7221 707 – 642
Email: andreas.braeu[at]schachinger.com   

SLOVAKIA FREIGHT a.s.
Phone.: +421 2 524 44 997
Mobile: +421 903 78 14 51
Fax: +421 2 524 44 316
Email: mayr[at]kmi-sf.sk 

Navigating on the Danube is free of charge. In 1948, this intention was put down in the Belgrade Convention. The Danube States are therefore obliged to keep the waterway in a suitable condition for navigation. It takes concerted and above all effective steps to actually achieve this goal along the entire Danube.

Basic information, joint approach  

Up-to-date recordings of the riverbed, combined with precise water level measurements are fundamental tools for navigation, shippers and logistics providers. To be able to measure regularly and to gather comparable data along the Danube, appropriate measuring instruments and ships are purchased in Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. Also additional automatic water level gauges will be built in the course of "FAIRway".   In a joint effort, the project partners will make the collected data on the waterway available to the public. Additionally  the data will be used to calculate water level prognosis for important reference gauges according to a standardized methodology .  

The best way  

With a high measuring density and continuity "FAIRway" is fostering the adaptation of the fairway to the current profile of the riverbed, thus improving the fairway conditions for inland navigation. Especially in the broader Lower Danube, there is still room for using intensified measurement activities to determine and mark the best possible fairway location and thus allow for higher drafts loaded to reduce transport costs.   "FAIRway" is just the beginning   To collect and provide improved information and to make optimum use of the current fairway conditions are essential first steps, but it can only be the beginning. Therefore, "FAIRway" is preparing supplementary and additional projects for implementing the Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan. While in the beginning the focus will be on known critical sections, with the progress of the Project  improved measurement results should be used increasingly  to prioritize or conceptualize further measures.  

More information on FAIRway can be found here.

The most pressing issue identified in the survey was the need to reduce waiting times as well as the duration of controls. A simplified and harmonized set of forms should be used throughout all the involved authorities and countries. On top of that, there should be a possibility to submit requested information electronically, prior to the control. But also a respectful interaction with the controlled skippers, crew and passengers was demanded.

Please refer to the full report for a more detailed analysis of the returned feedback forms: Results of the survey on border controls along the Danube and its navigable tributaries

The summary provides an overview and contains aggregated results: Summarized results of the survey on border controls along the Danube and its navigable tributaries

Tailor-made answers

Ursula Zechner, Section Head in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, stressed the importance of the participative involvement of relevant interest groups in drafting the Action Programme. This is the only way we can ensure tailor-made responses to versatile claims and requirements. "Until 2022, almost 12 Million Euro will be available for pump-priming. Thus, we could move almost 100 Million Euro, whereas one third should come from EU funding", said Zechner at the press conference.

Implementation optimally prepared

In the coming years, viadonau will provide support and consultancy for the implementation of the Action Programme. Hans-Peter Wegscheider, representing the viadonau Management and Head of Department for Traffic Management explained that implementation projects were already foreseen for many of the planned measures. "A good example is the project FAIRway which has been submitted for funding and in the framework of which seven Danube partners could come together to improve the infrastructure of the waterway", said Wegscheider. The LIFE+ Project "Auenwildnis Wachau" (English translation: Wilderness Wetland Wachau) has already been approved and will benefit domestic tree species and fauna. In terms of flood protection the focus will be even more strongly on a digital command and control system. A prototype testing will be carried out starting at the end of 2015 and the impacts achieved will be presented every two years in biennial progress reports.

Facts and figures Danube Navigation 2014

Still hot off the press, the Annual Report Danube Navigation 2014 in Austria released by viadonau was handed out at the Press Conference. The publication attests to a stable volume of traffic for inland navigation in the past year, in spite of extended low water periods. Domestic traffic on the Danube waterway rose by almost 14% and a 6% increase was registered by locked-through vessels illustrating a continuity of the positive trend of the recent years. The high availability of the waterway with 364 days was the highest in 15 years. Over 100,000 locked-through vessels and 10.1 million tons of goods transported demonstrate the performance potential of Danube navigation as a safe and reliable transport mode.

Photos: http://www.cityfoto.at/galerie/11162/  
Click here for more information about the Action Programme and the Annual Report Danube Navigation: <link en newsroom publications folders>www.viadonau.org/en/newsroom/publications/folders/  

Wednesdays are traditionally devoted to the Common Issues Meetings which are a central element of the RIS Week. Between expert group meetings, Wednesday 10 June was a busy day attended by over 80 delegates with a well-balanced agenda including keynote speeches, expert group reports, project and technical developments updates as well as discussions on RIS-enabled Corridor Management and a Q&A session on inputs and possible objectives for the revision of the RIS Directive 2005/44/EC.

The agenda focussed on the following:

• Strategic Developments
• Technical Developments and Updates
• Latest Trends in RIS-related Projects
• RIS-enabled Corridor Management (CoRISMa) - Towards the Creation of a Single Common Information Corridor
• Moderated discussion on the Deployment of Corridor Management based on the case study "CoRISMa project"

The presentations of the Common Issues Meeting can be downloaded here in PDF format. The next RIS Week will be held in Lille (France) and hosted by Voies Navigables de France (VNF) between the 23rd and 27th of November 2015.

Source and Editorial: www.ris.eu

The topic “recycling products on inland waterways” is one of great actuality and brought a high turnout. The event offered a neutral platform for knowledge and information exchange between the Danube logistics sector and the recycling business

The event started with presentations by Simon Hartl– Head of the viadonau’s Transport Development Team and Milica Gvozdic, Head of the Initiative “Recycling Products on Inland Waterways” who stressed the advantage that inland navigation can offer for the transport of recycling products and highlighted the manifold possibility for this specific type of cargo, one that needs special transport requirements and market conditions.

The host, Werner Auer, Managing Director of Ennshafen OÖ GmbH, presented the advantages of the business location Ennshafen for storage and transport of this commodity group and offered an overview of the local partners who are from the recycling sector Alfred Klement, Managing Director of Donau Metal and Paul Losbichler, Managing Director of Schaufler GmbH, both running companies in this sector explained in their presentations that the connection to the Danube waterway was one of the decisive reasons for their companies settling their business locations in the close proximity of the Danube waterway and that there is still a lot of potential that should be used.

This meeting offered the possibility to discuss identified challenges together, initiate approaches to solve existing obstacles and establish B2B contacts in this new and promising business segment.  

viadonau presentation (available in German only)  

This event was co-financed by the Platina II project.

One RIS Week takes place in early summer (typically June), the other in autumn (typically November).  Governmental delegations participating in the RIS Expert Groups normally volunteer to host and organise a RIS Week in their country, and extend their invitation to the members of the RIS Expert Groups. The next RIS Week will be held in Budapest on June 8-12 and hosted by the Hungarian RIS Provider RSOE.  

More information on the RIS Expert groups and an overview of the next RIS week can be found here.

Source and editorial: viadonau

Priority Area 1A — To improve mobility and multimodality: inland waterways of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) is coordinated by Austria and Romania. The EUSDR thereby lends a voice to key players and stakeholders from the 14 countries of the Danube region, some of whom have been expressing their discomfort with the existing administrative processes accompanying Danube navigation.

In order to systematically collect ideas and proposals from private stakeholders, a short questionnaire was launched in cooperation with PA11 on Security. This initiative is geared towards the reduction of the administrative burden for shipping companies and vessel operators at border controls along the Danube. The recommendations compiled from the results of the questionnaire will be used to develop administrative improvements in cooperation with the responsible authorities.

Working towards the improvement of the framework conditions for navigation on the Danube will contribute to raising the attractiveness and the competitiveness of Danube transport as a whole.

The survey will stay available online until 30 March 2015. It is available in 8 languages and can be found at www.danube-navigation.eu under “survey border control”.  Filling out this feedback form will take no longer than 10 minutes. The responses will be treated anonymously.

One of the main features of the market analysis was highlighting the advantages of Danube navigation for the transport of large volumes of cargo as well as its particular suitability for specific commodities. Furthermore, the study showed that the transport of goods from raw material-intensive industries such as steel, agro- or petrochemical industry on inland waterways proved particularly cost-efficient. The high transport capacity of the Danube is also of particular interest for the segment of project cargo and high-quality general cargo due to the increasing size and weight of the goods produced in the energy, building and engineering sector (e.g. generators, transformers, concrete components).

Since 2010 dedicated viadonau-initiated working initiatives have analyzed cargo types with higher potential for transport on the Danube waterway; within working groups experts from the sector have been discussing the special transport and storage requirements of specific cargo groups, as well as their modal shift possibilities.

The market analysis can be downloaded here.

PLATINA II
Work Package 1 "Markets & Awareness" of the PLATINA II project aims at identifying the new markets for inland waterway transport (IWT) in order to facilitate a targeted modal shift towards inland waterway transport in the most promising market segments. The market analysis is here to help decision-makers across Europe to create favorable conditions for the use of IWT in the identified sectors e.g. by lifting administrative burdens for particular transport segments or by providing financial incentives for investments in cargo-specific handling and storage equipment.

Links: Danube navigation: www.donauschifffahrt.info/en/transport/working_initiatives
NAIADES: www.naiades.info/what-we-do/about-platina-ii

Key actors and professionals in the field of IWT as well as leaders in technical aspects of inland waterway transport, who work in relation with PIANC, have already sent their abstracts. Don't miss this golden opportunity and submit yours now online at: www.pianc.org.ar/sr2015_form.php. Authors will be notified by 31 March and Conference Papers should be submitted until 15 July 2015.

A list of Conference topics as well as additional information can be found here.

High Level representatives of IWT Authorities from the United States, France, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, will attend the Conference. Eng. Jorge Quijano, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority, has confirmed his participation in the event as Keynote Speaker.

The 2015 edition is the second conference to be held under the PIANC banner - the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. The Conference is organized by, the PIANC National Section of Argentina (AADIP - Argentine Association of Port Engineers), with the support of local authorities, as well as the international PIANC community.

Link: www.pianc.org.ar; www.pianc.org 

Within these viadonau-led initiatives, commodity groups which present a high potential for transport on the waterway have been studied closely. Given the high loading capacity and the resulting reduced transport costs of such goods, agricultural and forestry products such as wood, wheat, and oilseed have proven particularly suitable for transport on inland vessels. Furthermore, ports along the Danube offer optimum storage and transshipment facilities for this type of cargo.

With a share of about 20% of the total cargo transport volume of agricultural and forestry products on the Austrian Danube, renewable resources make today a sizable share of the annual volume of goods transported on the Danube waterway.  

The argumentative paper is available for download (in German only).
The next working initiative has already been planned for spring 2015; this time, viadonau will focus on another commodity group with high potential: recycling products ­– such as scrap metal, recovered glass and waste paper.

Over 100 meetings for all the participants over two days of Riverdating showed the real interest in the solutions that Danube navigation has to offer; many visitors stopped by the Danube Business Corner for meetings and general inquiries. Business cards were exchanged and new contacts were made.

Barge to Business and Riverdating have proven once more that such events are of great importance for the inland navigation sector. Conferences on the latest navigation-relevant topics coupled with fast-track meetings have proven to be turnkey solution in initiating new business contacts and triggering a modal shift to inland navigation.

The Barge to Business 2014 event was an initiative of the European Logistics Advisory Network (ELAN), a European project without commercial interest that brings together waterway managers and promotion agencies.

Editorial: viadonau