Viking River Cruise Ship Evacuated After Danube Grounding
A Viking river cruise ship was evacuated after running aground on the Danube River, according to Maritime Executive. Bulgarian authorities evacuated passengers after the vessel became stranded in an area affected by extremely low water levels.
The Swiss-flagged Viking Ullur grounded early on July 28 while sailing from Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Romania, to Vidin, Bulgaria. The ship was carrying 186 passengers and 52 crewmembers. Authorities said the vessel had left the navigation channel before grounding. One passenger later wrote on social media that they had been told the incident was caused by pilot error.
Attempts to refloat the ship were unsuccessful, and another cruise vessel could not reach it because of the shallow water. Passengers were evacuated by small boats, and one passenger later reported they would continue to Bucharest by bus.
Several sections of the Danube are experiencing extremely low water levels after weeks of hot, dry weather. The conditions continue to affect navigation, cargo transport, and river tourism across the region. The grounded vessel is not in immediate danger and does not block river traffic.
