The Austrian section of the Danube between the state border near Passau and Bratislava is almost 350 kilometers long. The infrastructure along the river is considered the most developed in the entire Danube region, and freight transport on the river has corresponding potential for the future, for example in the Danube Action Program and the Goods Transport Master Plan of the Ministry for 2030. of Climate Protection. In practice, the Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH viadonau is trying to move more goods from the roads and railways to the water.
One factor of uncertainty here is weather and climate, specifically longer periods of low precipitation, which lead to low water levels. However, the Danube is not alone in this problem. The water level in Germany’s most important waterway, the Rhine, recently fell well below one meter. No pushed train could travel fully loaded anymore – “classic times of low tide”, it was said.
Low tide tends to arrive earlier
It is difficult to estimate what role climate change will play in the long-term water levels of the Danube. Of course this is a problem, but on the Danube in Austria, “the navigable channel conditions are very stable in the long term”, said Christoph Caspar from viadonau in an interview with ORF.at. What can be observed, however, is that in recent years the low water has not only occurred in autumn, but tends to occur earlier.
ORF.at/Roland Winkler If the water depth is too shallow, it cannot be fully charged
Last year, according to the 2022 Danube Shipping Annual Report, this was the case in March and again between July and September; according to the 2022 report, the Danube carried less water overall than in the previous ten years. The reason for this was longer dry periods. However, according to Caspar, low tide is not a recent phenomenon; navigation on the Danube has always had something to do with it.
Rio is constantly being researched
As operator of the waterway and responsible for practically everything related to the river, viadonau tries to react as quickly as possible to changing conditions. The river is constantly under observation and is measured throughout the year, explains Caspar, head of corporate communications and organizational management at viadonau. An attempt is being made to identify possible problem areas, for example if the river is carrying sediment, and channels would be dredged if necessary.
ORF/Günther Rosenberger The Austrian section of the Danube between the borders of Bavaria and Slovakia is almost 350 kilometers long
The “maintenance objective” of the viadonau is to provide a continuous navigation channel with a depth of 2.5 meters on the Danube year-round, Caspar said. The draft of pushed ships and convoys varies naturally depending on the weight and cargo; sometimes they have to carry less at low tide. Recently, ships on the Rhine in Germany were only able to sail at 40% capacity.
Level monitoring system
Data on water levels and shallows, bridge clearance heights and other information that ship crews need on the river are available in the “DoRis” (“Donau River Information System”) monitoring system from viadonau and the Ministry of Transport.
Water levels in Austrian waters on October 27th, more information by touch or mouseover
Viadonau was founded in 2005 and is responsible for all federal matters on and along the Danube, from waterway management to river management. This also includes ecological concerns, such as protecting biodiversity, for example through renaturation measures. Flood protection is also a central task. According to Caspar, this “integrative concept” is one of the pillars of the work.
Capabilities must be expanded
Another is the expansion of transport capabilities on the river. Currently, water transport volumes in Austria lag far behind those by road and rail. Land transport is very sustainable and profitable, not for all product groups, but for many goods, explains Caspar.
Graphics: ORF; Source: Danube Navigation Manual/viadonau
Ships are particularly suitable for transporting large quantities of bulk materials such as grain, ores, fertilizers and fuels, but also very large and heavy industrial goods and for heavy transport such as components for wind power plants. An example of viadonau calculation: if a truck with a ton of goods and a certain amount of energy travels 100 kilometers, the train’s range would be 300 kilometers and the Danube ship’s range would be 370 kilometers. The CO2 balance is correspondingly better. According to Statistics Austria, almost 591 million tonnes of goods moved by road last year, around 103 tonnes were transported by rail and around 6.4 million tonnes on the Austrian section of the Danube. Air freight was responsible for 18 tons.
Freight volume fell sharply in the previous year
The 6.4 million tons of sea freight in the previous year corresponds to a decrease of 22.9 percent compared to 2021. The highest volume was achieved in recent years with 8.5 million tons in 2019, in 2021 the volume of transport was 8.3 million tons. With a decrease of 1.9 million tons, a long-term minimum was reached, although, according to the data, the volume of transportation on foreign routes also decreased significantly. The decline was greatest in imports before exports and in transit freight.
Consequences of the Uraine War
This situation was responsible for a number of causes: the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February, the relocation of capabilities to other sections of the Danube and, finally, as the annual report states, the “significantly below average water supply”, with long periods of low tide in the spring and summer of 2022. Danube ships were only 58% full. Along with the lower transport volume, port throughput in Austria also fell by 28.5%.
Ukraine has been trying to export more cereals through the Danube, especially since the termination of the agreement to export cereals through the Black Sea. Other countries boosted the import of certain goods, like Germany, for example, coal. This meant that the ships were virtually connected to sections of the Danube other than the Austrian one. Passenger numbers on the Danube increased again last year after the coronavirus pandemic ended.
The Austrian Danube Fleet
Everything possible is transported by the Danube. Ores and ore residues accounted for more than a quarter last year, agricultural and forestry products almost 20 percent, followed by metal products, petroleum products and fertilizers. A smaller portion was responsible for mineral raw materials, food for human and animal consumption, fuels, machinery and chemical products. Imports clearly predominate.
ORF.at/Roland Winkler Large quantities of bulk products such as grains, ores and fertilizers can be easily transported by river
According to the annual report on Danube shipping in Austria 2022, the domestic Danube fleet consisted of 289 vehicles last year. On average, these operated for 44 years. To be counted, they must meet certain legal requirements (transport technology regulations) and be registered in Austria.
Barges, barges, work boats
Almost half (142) are non-motorized cargo barges and so-called barges that are used in towing trains and are moved by towing vessels. On average they are almost 70 meters long. 45 vehicles are work vehicles, followed by 32 passenger ships, mainly excursion ships and only one cruise ship. In addition, 29 pusher vessels were operated. Next are the motorized cargo ships (14), with an average length of 92 meters, then the tanker barges and tank barges (eleven), the “others” (nine) and finally the tankers and boats -tank.
At almost 2,850 kilometers long, the Danube is the longest river on the European continent after the Volga. Its source rivers originate in the German Black Forest and flow into the Black Sea, in the border area of Romania and Ukraine. Along the way, it flows through or touches ten countries, Moldova’s border between Romania and Ukraine is just a few meters long.