186 passengers evacuated after cruise ship runs aground in Danube

Bulgarian border police have evacuated 186 passengers from a Viking Cruises ship. Viking Ullur ran aground on a sandbank on the Danube earlier this week, as exceptionally low water levels continue to disrupt river cruising and shipping across Central Europe. Viking Ullur became stranded near Gomotartsi, Bulgaria, in the early hours of Tuesday (28 July), with passengers reportedly running out of food and water as efforts to reach the vessel were hampered by the shallow river.

At the time, Viking Ullur was making its way to the Port of Vidin in northwest Bulgaria to load supplies before continuing its journey.

However, it came “into contact with a sandbank during a period of exceptionally low water levels.” That’s how the company described the incident to USA Today.

“There were no injuries to guests or crew, and the vessel remained safe throughout the incident.”

Border police evacuate 186 passengers

Bulgarian border police posted its live response onto Facebook.

“Another vessel was provided to transfer the people, but it failed to reach the stranded ship,” the force noted. That was the French-flagged MS Vivaldi. According to a Bulgarian News Agency reports, the latter couldn’t get close enough to the site. Officers at the Border Police Ship Base in Vidin stepped into action and deployed a patrol boat to evacuate the passengers – who’d run out of food and water according to Bulgaria’s state news agency BTA.

The ship’s 52 crew members were expected to remain on the stricken vessel for an extended period depending on navigation conditions and refloating options. The vessel’s status remains unclear.

Viking Ullur details

The 443ft ship was built in 2019. It features 95 outside staterooms, a sun deck with 360-degree views, an organic herb garden, a putting green and a walking track.

Viking Cruises named the stricken cruise ship after the Norse God of the Hunt. Stepson of Thor, Ullur is known for his great skill as an archer. The company’s website states: ‘He is also a wily wizard, able most notably to cross the seas without the use of a vessel but, instead, upon a length of bone resembling a ski on which he has cast a spell.’ Details of Viking’s cruises are available on its website.

Record-low water levels disrupt Danube cruises

According to the border force’s post, the incident occurred at the 817th river kilometre, opposite the village of Gomotartsi. “The reasons are the low level of the Danube River and reduced visibility.”

Another operator, Avalon Waterways, told news outlets it was forced to cancel some departures due to the conditions.

The Danube is experiencing exceptionally low water levels this summer, with sections of the river approaching or reaching record lows after prolonged heat and drought. In Hungary, levels have come close to historic minimums, while low water has disrupted river cruising and cargo transport and left vessels stranded or forced to operate with reduced loads. The situation has also affected energy infrastructure, with low river flows threatening cooling water supplies for nuclear power plants in Hungary and Romania.

The river, which runs through 10 countries from southwestern Germany to the Black Sea, has receded to never-before-seen lows along much of its course, exposing rocks, sandbars, and old shipwrecks that have rarely been seen before, says The Independent.

In Budapest, Hungary’s capital, the national water authority measured the Danube’s water level at 23 centimetres (9 inches) on Wednesday morning, well below the previous all-time low of 33 centimetres (13 inches) set in 2018.

Low water threatens shipping and energy supplies

The low water level has forced popular cruise ships, where passengers usually disembark for sightseeing in Budapest, to dock far upriver, while cargo ships have stopped operating nearly entirely, according to Hungary’s Ministry of Transport and Investment.

The pattern of low river levels has become a recurring feature of European summers, although conditions vary significantly from year to year and between regions. The 2022 drought was particularly severe, with the Danube and other major waterways reaching exceptionally low levels, while 2023 and 2024 saw a mix of drought and flooding across different parts of Europe.

In 2025, heat and drought again pushed down levels on the Rhine, Danube and Vistula, disrupting freight movements, while the UK experienced widespread water shortages. This year’s conditions suggest that increasingly volatile hydrology – alternating between extreme high and low water – is becoming a growing operational challenge for Europe’s inland waterways.

Impact of climate change

The increasingly frequent occurrence of extreme low-water events is also raising questions about the impact of climate change on Europe’s rivers. Hotter summers, prolonged drought and changing rainfall patterns are increasing the risk of low river flows, while reduced snow cover and earlier snowmelt in the Alps can leave less water feeding major rivers later in the summer. However, individual low-water events are also shaped by short-term weather patterns, rainfall and water use. The result is a growing operational challenge for Europe’s inland waterways, with low levels disrupting passenger cruises, cargo transport and, in some cases, energy production.