GARLA MARE, Romania — For several tense hours this week, a Danube cruise carrying more than 200 people sat motionless on a sandbank near the village of Garla Mare, where Romania meets Bulgaria and Serbia.
The ship, believed to be the Viking Lif, had left Turnu Magurele heading for Vienna when it hit a shallow stretch of the river late Wednesday. At that point, the Danube’s flow in the area had dropped to roughly 2,600 cubic meters per second — a full thousand below normal for this time of year — leaving exposed patches of sand that caught the vessel.
Locals said they noticed the ship stationary just off the Romanian bank, which is unusual traffic for that quiet section of the river. Authorities arrived soon after, setting up coordination calls with the crew and ensuring passengers had water and food brought from shore. “Everyone stayed calm, but they didn’t know how long it would take,” one resident told national TV station Digi 24.
By the next morning, the current had picked up. As the water level rose, the vessel finally shifted free and resumed its route north toward Austria. No injuries or damage were reported. Navigation in the area has since been declared normal, though several barges and a ferry service near Bechet also saw temporary disruptions earlier in the week due to the same low water levels.
Standing near the bank the day after, you could still see where the sand had been disturbed — a reminder of how little margin the Danube sometimes leaves for even experienced pilots.