Annual Report on Danube Navigation 2025: River cruises see a significant increase, passenger numbers return to pre-pandemic levels
The new Annual Report on Danube Navigation in Austria has been published. Based on extensive data, the report provides a clear view on inland waterway transport on the Austrian Danube: passenger transport has grown by ten per cent and now stands at 1.21 million passengers. Cargo transport on the Austrian Danube, however, has fallen by 11.6 per cent. Inland waterway transport accounts for just under six per cent of the modal split along the Danube corridor.
Annual Report on Danube Navigation in Austria 2025, source: viadonau
Danube shipping in Austria presents a mixed picture in 2025: whilst passenger shipping has seen significant growth and the accident record is once again very positive, cargo shipping faces a number of challenges as the Annual Report on Danube Navigation for 2025, published by the waterway operator viadonau, shows.
Passenger shipping performed well last year. Around 1.21 million passengers were carried on the Austrian section of the Danube in 2025, representing a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. Both liner shipping services and river cruises contributed to this growth. River cruises rose by 12.8 per cent to around 530,000 passengers. Liner shipping also performed well: with around 590,000 passengers, an increase of 9.3 per cent was achieved. Passenger numbers are thus once again approaching the levels seen in the years before the pandemic.
Excellent safety record
The accident record for inland navigation on the Austrian section of the Danube is also positive. In 2025, 20 accidents resulting in damage were recorded. One person sustained minor injuries; there were no fatalities. The most common types of accident were collisions with lock facilities and bridges, as well as damage to the riverbank. These figures highlight the Danube’s significance as a safe mode of transport; particularly when compared to land-based modes such as rail and road, the waterway is unrivalled.
The annual report also paints a positive picture regarding the availability of the waterway: in 2025, the Austrian section of the Danube was navigable on all 365 days without any official closures; neither flooding nor ice led to any official closures. At the same time, clean-up work following the floods of 2024 at the start of the following year, as well as several periods of low water – particularly east of Vienna – made conditions more difficult for cargo shipping.
Decline in transport volumes for transit and imports
The trend in cargo transport was less encouraging. Following the recovery in 2024, transport volumes failed to hold up in 2025. At 5.8 million tonnes, they were 11.6 per cent below the previous year’s figure. Import volumes (-21.9 per cent) and transit volumes (-44.4 per cent) fell particularly sharply. Waterborne cargo handling at Austria’s Danube ports recorded a decline of 3.4 per cent over the same period. This trend is also reflected in the Austrian Danube Corridor. Of the 85.4 million tonnes transported across borders by road, rail and the Danube in 2025, 65 per cent was accounted for by road, 29 per cent by rail (+1 per cent compared with the previous year) and just 6 per cent by inland waterway transport (-1 per cent compared with 2024).
Click here to go directly to the Annual Report on Danube Navigation in Austria 2025.
