Dozens of boats in a marina in Serbia’s northern city of Novi Sad floated in a green slurry — all that remained after the waters of the Danube receded by several hundred metres, while barges were moored in the deeper sections of the river.
Danube levels fell to record lows in Croatia and Serbia, exposing hundreds of square kilometres of sand banks, following the summer's prolonged heatwaves and drought that have affected waterways across Europe.
Serbia’s fuel imports fell to 25 per cent of their monthly target for July as low Danube water levels forced barges and tankers to operate at 30 per cent to 40 per cent of their cargo capacity, Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday.
In Serbia, low water levels in the Danube and the navigable rivers Tisa and Sava also hampered fisheries and tourism, while experts warned of long-term effects on wildlife.
Low water levels in Croatia exposed a freight ship that sank in 1937. In eastern Serbia, rusty hulks of a German river flotilla scuttled in 1944 emerged from the Danube, endangering navigation.
In Belgrade, a restaurant owner placed a table and chairs on a pile of rocks that emerged in the middle of the river.
Serbia’s hydrometeorological department forecast a minimal rise in the Danube in the coming days due to rainfall upstream.
(Reporting by Branko Filipovic and Antonio Bronic; Writing by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by David Gaffen)