The Rive Danube's water levels have sunk to a 100- year low for the month of May in Austria, forcing shippers to reduce cargo loadings, dpa quoted sources in the river transport industry as saying Wednesday. Similar problems have been reported upstream in Germany. The Danube originates in Germany, connecting Western Europe with the Balkans and the Black Sea. "We have a low-water situation which can be called exceptional," said Gerhard Kudebauch, head of river maintenance at Via Donau, the national river management service. Most barges on the Danube can carry up to 1,750 tons, but recently loadings had to be reduced by 20 per cent to allow for navigation in shallow water, a shipping manager said. The manager, who was not authorized to speak on record, said he hoped for rain until the end of the month. In the German state of Bavaria, the environmental agency said Tuesday that shippers have had to leave cargo behind because of low water levels. Early last week, ships on the Bulgarian stretch of the Danube were warned to stay clear of shallows, but it has rained heavily since then. Kudebauch said water was so low because snow had started melting earlier than usual this year and because there has been little rain since mid-April. Dry weather has also affected the German Rhine, another major European waterway. Car maker Ford said earlier this week that it would cut down on using ships to transport its products, if the ebb goes even lower.
