2009 Annual Report on Danube Navigation: 25,500 tons per day despite economic crisis

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Inland waterway transport is a reliable partner, as was revelead by the current Annual Report on Danube Navigation in Austria, which has been published for the third time by via donau. With waterway availability reaching a level of 98.5% or 347 days per year, more than 9 million tons of goods were transported on the Danube in the previous year. This is equivalent to a decline of about 17% over 2008. However, the second half of 2009 already showed a slight economic recovery.    

One factor impeding the development of Danube navigation is the average load factor of cargo vessels, which only amounted to about 60% over the whole year. An important aspect in this respect is the available fairway depth, which constitutes an essential parameter with regard to a vessel’s loaded draught. Improved services such as the provision of information on shallow sections, but also the maintenance and further development of the Danube waterway facilitate the planning of waterway transport and hence increase the quality of the services the green transport mode provides for the manufacturing industry.

Danube navigation is not only economically indispensable for shippers, it is also extremely reliable. Thus, in the long-term annual average from 1993 to 2009, the Austrian section of the Danube waterway was open to navigation on 98.5% of the days or on 360 days per year. Danube navigation is also unbeatable in terms of safety: not a single accident involving personal injury was recorded on the Danube in 2009.

These and numerous other current facts and figures on the Danube waterway are included in the Annual Report on Danube Navigation in Austria, which is available in German and English. Printed copies can be ordered at » presse   via-donau.org. An online version of the Annual Report is available at » http://www.via-donau.org/en/knowledge/publications/brochures/.

Edited by: via donau  

Link: » http://www.via-donau.org/en/knowledge/publications/brochures
Diagrams: » http://www.via-donau.org/newsroom/bildarchiv/allgemein/ (Section: Jahresbericht 2009)