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How many containers fit onto a ship?

In total 144 containers calculated in 20 foot-equivalent units (TEU) can be stacked on an optimised Danube vessel, namely 3 tiers with 4 containers width-wise and 12 containers lengthwise. A conventional Danube vessel can freight up to 60 TEU (3 x 10 x 2).

Category: Navigation

How long does it take for a vessel to pass locks?

Lock passage itself takes about 30 minutes. Considering the time needed to enter and to leave the lock, you must calculate an average of 45 minutes for each passage. This applies to Austrian locks only.

Category: Navigation

How long does a vessel need to travel from Vienna to Linz?

Upstream, it takes a big motor cargo vessel an average of 26 hours, a convoy with two vessels 32 hours and a convoy with four vessels 36 hours.
Downstream, it takes a big motor cargo vessel an average of 20 hours, whereas both convoys require 24 hours (see also timetable inquiries).

Category: Navigation

What types of vessels navigate the Danube?

The most common type of ship assembly is the pushed convoy. However, since the Main-Danube Canal opened in January 1992, an ever increasing number of self-propelled vessels from the Rhine have been navigating the Danube. Gauged in transported tonnage, the ratio of pushed convoys to self-propelled vessels on the Danube is currently about 85 to 15. As regards the Austrian stretch of the Danube, the ratio is 70 to 30 due to the influence of self-propelled ships coming from the West

Category: Navigation

Are toll payments or any other charges to be expected when navigating the Danube?

No, they are not. On the Danube complete freedom of navigation is applied. This means that no tolls or charges may be demanded whatsoever. The canals, such as the Main-Danube Canal, the Black Sea Canal as well as the canalised estuary in Romania, the so-called Sulina Canal, are the only exceptions to this rule.

Category: Navigation

How fast is a vessel allowed to travel on the Danube?

There are no fixed regulations as regards the maximum speed allowed. However, there are indirect limits fixed in the so-called “navigation rules”. In Austria these are stipulated in the Waterways Traffic Ordinance, section 6. These regulations serve basically to prevent vessels from generating massive wave impact through speeding and, as a side consequence, also to determine the maximum speed allowed.

For safety reasons, the stopping power of a ship navigating downstream is controlled and determined at its technical approval. The captain is to set the speed so that the ship can be brought to a complete halt within a predetermined distance without causing any kind of damage on either docked ships or shipping facilities (e.g. boarding docks). The speed travelled at on the Danube varies in the free flowing sections of the river depending on the speed of the current itself and on the type of vessel used. Usually this means 16 to 20 km/h downstream and 6 to 13 km/h upstream.

Category: Navigation

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How many tonnes are freighted on the Danube each year?

About 11.5 million tonnes were freighted on the Austrian section of the Danube in 2005. On the entire Danube, the total of transported goods amounted to approximately 30 million tonnes. According to estimations, we can expect a duplication or even triplication of traffic on the Danube by 2015 as a result of the EU enlargement to the East and the ensuing development of traffic between South-Eastern and Western Europe.
Category: Freight transport on the Danube

Category: Güterverkehr auf der Donau

What type of cargo may be freighted on the Danube?

Basically, all types of cargo may be freighted. Depending on the cargo, whether dry or liquid, specialised vessels are used. For small loads virtually all combinations of cargo are possible (bulk and general cargo of all sorts in the dry area as well as a variety of liquid goods in the tank) provided no prohibition of mixed load applies, as is the case with hazardous material.
Category: Freight transport on the Danube

Category: Güterverkehr auf der Donau