The extended low water period, as a result of the exceptionally hot and dry summer, presented cargo vessels with major challenges. Nevertheless, despite difficult operating conditions, navigation on the Danube was guaranteed throughout the whole of 2015. This was primarily thanks to professional waterway management and maintenance of the fairway. The Annual Report 2015 on Danube Navigation in Austria provides detailed insight into an eventful year– from the results of a historically low water period to the growing importance of the transport of recycling products on the waterway or the traffic situation at Danubian locks.
[Translate to English:] © viadonau
2015 was an unusual year. These extreme weather conditions clearly demonstrated that in order to ensure the availability of the waterway, even under difficult fairway conditions, efficient and farsighted waterway management is of the utmost importance
For this reason, 2015 saw viadonau carry out a number of targeted and proactive maintenance measures, with specific emphasis on the free-flowing stretch of the Danube east of Vienna. Between August and mid-September around 125,000 m³ gravel was excavated from shallow sections of the waterway and returned to the river at suitable locations. Although cargo vessels were forced to navigate the river downstream from Vienna with reduced loaded drafts, viadonau's competent management of the waterway meant that shipping on the Austrian section of the Danube could be guaranteed throughout the year. The transport sector was especially affected by the negative impact of low water. While transport volumes fell to almost 8.6 million tons of goods, a drop of 15.0% compared to the previous year, passenger traffic recorded a slight increase of 2.2% in passenger traffic on the Austrian Danube.
The increase in sports and recreational boating was even more significant. With a total of 10,600 units, the number of small vessels passing through locks on the Austrian Danube rose by almost 30% compared to 2014. Out of a total of over 90,000 locked-through vessels, only around 11% experienced significant waiting times; these amounted to an average of 34 minutes.
Find out more on navigation on the Danube in the current annual report 2015 Danube in Austria , 2015. Whether because you are looking for a synopsis of the various areas of development, a cutting-edge information pool or a reference publication on very specific trends in the Danube - the new annual report is a must-read for all individuals interested in shipping and the economy.
The annual report is available in the publications section in the download area of our website.
