Bulgarian Border Police safely evacuated all 186 passengers from the Swiss-flagged river cruise ship Viking Ullur on July 28 after the vessel ran aground on the Danube River near Vidin, Bulgaria.
The grounding was caused by record-low water levels resulting from an intense summer heatwave.
The ship departed Drobeta-Turnu Severin in Romania on Monday night bound for Vidin before straying outside the designated navigation channel around 02:20 AM.
Operating on the 10-night "Passage to Eastern Europe Cruise" route to Budapest, the 443-foot ship became stranded on a shallow shoal near the village of Gomotartsi, approximately 15 miles upstream from its destination.
A depletion of onboard supplies prompted emergency intervention when the stranded ship failed to reach port to replenish food and drinking water.
An initial transfer attempt using CroisiEurope's riverboat Vivaldi failed when the relief vessel could not approach the grounded ship, forcing authorities to deploy patrol boats to ferry life-jacketed passengers to safety before transporting them by bus to Bucharest.
Official measurements show the river's flow near the grounding site dropped from a normal 4,700 cubic meters per second down to 1,650 cubic meters per second.
Water levels across Central Europe have reached extreme lows, with Budapest measuring the Danube at a record 23 centimeters, well below the previous historic low of 33 centimeters set in 2018.
The extreme drought has severely disrupted regional maritime transport and energy infrastructure.
Cargo ships have drastically reduced loads or halted operations, while regional power providers in Romania and Hungary were forced to shut down nuclear reactors due to restricted cooling-water supplies from the depleted river.
Local vessel operator Radovan Segrt noted the severe impact on regional tourism as the river receded 15 to 20 meters from its banks.
"The summer season is over now, as far as boat riding is concerned," said Radovan Segrt, houseboat owner.
The receding waters have also exposed historical artifacts and hazards, including World War II munitions in Budapest.
Treasure hunters have used magnetic fishing tools to retrieve historical metal objects from newly exposed riverbeds.
"Having so little water in the Danube is a blessing for this kind of activity, otherwise, it’s a curse," said Zsolt Horváth, treasure hunter.
Authorities confirmed the Viking Ullur remains outside the main navigation channel without disrupting traffic, though its 52 crew members face an extended stay onboard while salvage operations continue.
