While cruising the Danube River in Europe, a Viking river cruise ship grounded.
According to a statement sent to USA TODAY via email, Viking Ullur “into contact with a sandbank during a period of exceptionally low water levels” on July 28.
“The safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew is always our highest priority,” Viking stated. “There were no injuries to guests or crew, and the vessel remained safe throughout the incident.”
According to a translated Facebook post, Bulgaria’s border police stated that the incident happened close to the city of Vidin. At the time, there were 52 crew members and 186 guests on board.
Before the itinerary’s scheduled end on 30 July, guests were carried ashore and continued their journey with a day in Bucharest, Romania, according to the cruise line. “Viking will communicate any further updates directly with impacted guests and their Travel Advisors,” the firm said.
The announcement follows earlier sailings that were affected by low water levels in the area due to heatwaves and dryness. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Avalon Waterways, another cruise line, had cancelled some excursions on the Danube and Rhine rivers due to this.
Many ships were left stranded or languishing in port due to the conditions. According to Reuters, Danube water levels in Romania fell to their lowest point in thirty years in late July.
186 passengers on a Viking Cruises ship were evacuated by Bulgarian border guards. Earlier this week, Viking Ullur ran aground on a Danube sandbank, further disrupting river cruising and shipping around Central Europe due to abnormally low water levels. Early on Tuesday, July 28, Viking Ullur became trapped close to Gomotartsi, Bulgaria. Passengers reportedly ran out of food and water as the shallow river made it difficult to get to the ship.
Viking Ullur was travelling to the Port of Vidin in northwest Bulgaria at the time in order to load supplies before going on.
It did, however, “come into contact with a sandbank during a period of exceptionally low water levels.” The business told USA Today about the situation in this manner.
“The vessel remained safe throughout the incident, and neither guests nor crew were injured.”
As it started the evacuation of 186 passengers and 52 crew and service members on board, the organization said, “Border police vessels set a course not only toward the border but also toward people in need of assistance when the situation demands it.”
The force stated, “Another vessel was provided to transfer the people, but it failed to reach the stranded ship.” That was the MS Vivaldi flying the French flag. The latter was unable to approach the location closely enough, according to reports from the Bulgarian News Agency. The passengers, who had run out of food and water, were evacuated by officers from the Border Police Ship Base in Vidin using a patrol boat, according to Bulgaria’s official news agency BTA.
Depending on navigational conditions and refloating alternatives, the ship’s 52 crew members were anticipated to stay on the damaged ship for a considerable amount of time. The status of the vessel is still unknown.