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Grave situation on the Danube

phoebecat

By phoebecat,
in River Cruising

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remydiva

remydiva

Posted
Posted
Has anyone an idea what type of boat is sailing on the Danube?

 

It is not a day, they are moored in the middle of the photo on the right hand side.

 

First one I've seen in two weeks.

 

Ron

 

Just checked on marinetraffic.com and no boats are showing up in Passau. Lots in Budapest but zero for Passau ..the site is not always accurate.:(

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newfirsttimer

newfirsttimer

Posted
Posted

I have a friend who was to leave today on the Scenic Jewel from Budapest to Nuremberg. She has advised that the Jewel is in Belgrade, unable to get to Budapest so they are leaving on the Pearl today. Another Scenic cruise leaving for Amsterdam is without a ship so they are bussing them to ??? presumably to pick up a ship. She did say that you would hardly know that there had been any flooding in Budapest.

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BagPacked

BagPacked

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your post newfirsttimer. I have about 8 friends on the same cruise as your friend. I know they will be so disappointed when they discover they will not be traveling on the Scenic Jewel. A couple days before they left, they were assured that the Jewel was en route to Budapest--seems pretty obvious that someone gave them the wrong info. Please post again, if you hear from your friend.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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davidrw

davidrw

Posted
Posted

 

Thanks Ingo.

 

The Scenic site is very interesting as it is possible to follow a ship across each day and see what can be navigated. One can follow Scenic Pearl from Vienna to Budapest - this implies that the Slovak lock is open.

 

Unfortunately marinetraffic has a lot more coverage gaps after the floods.

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davidrw

davidrw

Posted
Posted
Which area of the Danube does that affect? Thanks for the information.

 

Viking etc have been stating for a while:-

<<Austria: Altenwörth Lock

 

According to the Austrian authorities, the Altenwörth lock, which is located on the Danube River between the cities of Vienna and Melk, was damaged during the recent flood. The lock is currently closed for repairs and is scheduled to reopen on June 20, 2013. Depending on sailing schedules, this closure may cause delays for those who are scheduled to be sailing in the area around June 20th, or may require switching of sister ships for those who are scheduled to be in the area before it reopens.

>>

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cruzemaven

cruzemaven

Posted
Posted

Just found this post on Avalon's Facebook page. The poster states that he is currently finishing up his cruise on the Danube and posted this:

 

We're just completing our cruise in Budapest. Last 5 days were excellent. Staterooms are excellent as are the crew and the food and wine. Problem was for us it took 3 ships to get here. Spent more time on a coach sitting around industrial estates. All because of the flooding in the area. Nobody's fault. I just wish Avalon had cancelled the cruise as they did with other trips. If the weather is good.....you'll love it.

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davidrw

davidrw

Posted
Posted
The Altenwörth Lock in Austria is completely closed until 21.06.13 according to the official announcement ( http://nts.doris.bmvit.gv.at/#8617 ). I don't know if this is the opening date or more likely that this official notice is valid until 21.6.13 when the notice will be updated.

 

Ron

 

The German notice says <<Die Schleuse Altenwörth muss wegen massiver Hochwasserschäden im Bereich des Unterhafens gesperrt werden. An beiden Seiten des Vorhafens (Leitmauer und Ländenmauer) wurden die Fundamente mehrere Meter tief unterspült (ca. 90.000 m³ Fehlvolumen), die Festigkeit des Bauwerks ist akut gefährdet. Die Arbeiten sind bereits beauftragt, am 21.06.2013 wird entschieden, ob die Sicherung der Mauern so weit hergestellt werden konnte, dass eine teilweise Inbetriebnahme der Schleuse möglich ist.>>

 

Which Google translates as

 

<<Additional text in national language: The lock Altenwörth must be closed due to massive flood damage in the lower harbor. On both sides of the outer harbor (guide wall and the border wall) the foundations several feet deep washed out (approx. 90,000 m³ error volume) were the strength of the structure is in acute danger. The works have already been commissioned on 21.06.2013, it is decided whether the fuse of the walls could be established so far that a partial commissioning of the lock is possible.>>

 

Which implies that they will deciding on the 21st whether partial reopening is possible or not - however a better translation from a German speaker would be appreciated.

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UKBayern

UKBayern

Posted
Posted

@ davidrw

 

Material was washed from underneath the foundations of the lock and attendant structures, to a depth of several metres (one metre being 3.3 feet) - so that implies an order of magnitude of 10 or 15 feet or so.

90.000 cubic metres of material are missing. (that is 3.2 million cubic feet)

The structural integrity of the facility is in acute danger.

The repair work has already been commissioned.

On the 21st of June the decision will be taken as to whether the work has progressed enough to allow a partial re-opening of the locks.

 

So expect a re-opening no earlier than 21.06. but do take into account it might very well come later.

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davidrw

davidrw

Posted
Posted

The Austrian closure notice now states that the lock is closed until the 28th June

 

German <<Die Schleuse Altenwörth muss wegen massiver Hochwasserschäden im Bereich des Unterhafens gesperrt werden. An beiden Seiten des Vorhafens (Leitmauer und Ländenmauer) wurden die Fundamente mehrere Meter tief unterspült. Der Kolk unter der Leitmauer reicht bis ins gegenüberliegende Wehrfeld, an der Ländenmauer wurden Setzungsrisse festgestellt. Die Festigkeit des Bauwerks ist weiterhin gefährdet, es sind umfangreichere Sicherungsmaßnahmen erforderlich als ursprünglich erwartet>>

 

Google <<The lock Altenwörth must be closed due to massive flood damage in the lower harbor. On both sides of the outer harbor (guide wall and the border wall), the foundations were undermined several meters deep. Der Kolk under the guide wall extends to the opposite weir, on the border wall ratio cracks were observed. The strength of the structure remains fragile, there are extensive security measures required than originally expected.>>

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dbhudgins

dbhudgins

Posted
Posted

we are on a cruise (GCCL) from BUdapest to Linz that has been

detained in Budapest for several days but we have HEARD that

it is scheduled to go on as planned after that. NOW I see that

the lock between Vienna and Linz will not be open until at least

6/28 (we were to be in Vienna on the 25th) - any idea on other

areas between Budapest and Linz that are closed? The tour

operators ARE NOT cancelling so we have to choice but to go

at this point - river cruise now becomes a Budapest hotel

trip. Ugh!

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dbhudgins

dbhudgins

Posted
Posted

Yaaa! - perhaps I will now get more than one Mozart concert! We are just trying to

make the best of a tough situation - even tougher for those living along the Danube!

Hard for me to complain about a messed up river cruise when some have lost so much.

I know that a bad day in some of the Danube Cities is better than a great day at

home! Thanks for that reminder that we will be with friends and will be on vacation, even

if not on the river - we should be near it.

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SeattleDA

SeattleDA

Posted
Posted

I just came through from Budapest to Vienna on the Scenic Pearl. It was smooth sailing all the way. We have been told that we will be on the Pearl for the entire trip, so if there is a lock shut down up ahead, they are keeping quiet about it. We are parked near two Viking ships and one Uniworld.

 

The water is high and we saw a lot of debris around Budapest, but it seems to be getting better the further upriver we travel.

 

Our only problem so far - and it is a big one - is the air conditioning being broken in parts of the ship. You can read about that in its own thread.

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