Low Danube Levels Disrupt Shipping and Fuel in Serbia, Croatia

Record‑low water levels on the Danube this week have exposed extensive sandbanks and historic wrecks, including a 1937 freight ship in Croatia and a German river flotilla scuttled in 1944 in eastern Serbia. The drought‑driven decline, blamed on prolonged heatwaves and climate change, forced navigation to retreat by several hundred metres. Barges and tankers can now carry only 30‑40% of their usual cargo, and Serbia’s fuel imports have fallen to just 25% of the July target, Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanović said. The low water also hampered fisheries and tourism and raised concerns about long‑term ecological damage. Vladimir Stakic, publisher of Angling Magazine, described the situation as “extremely low, worryingly low water levels.” Serbia’s hydrometeorological service expects only a modest rise from upstream rainfall in the coming days.