Shippers Suffer Losses Due To Blocked Danube
The Danube will remain blocked by bombed Yugoslav bridges through the winter, with the cost of removal estimated at as much as $31.5 million, the Danube Commission announced, adding that private shippers are racking up losses far in excess of these figures. "Environmental damage of considerable consequence goes far beyond what it would cost the international community to clear the bridges and re-establish navigation," Hellmuth Strasser, head of the commission's secretariat, said. He added that re-establishing the river's shipping is the most difficult task the Danube Commission has faced since World War II. Experts estimate it will cost between $15.8 and $31.5 million to remove bridges bombed by NATO during its air campaign against Yugoslavia, Strasser said.
Shipping on Danube Slated For Spring 2002
Regular shipping on the river Danube will not resume before the spring of 2002, following the removal of NATO bombing debris from the river in Serbia, the head of the Danube Commission, Hellmuth Strasser, said. The economies of countries using the lower Danube - mainly Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia - are losing more than $306 million a year due to the obstruction of the river, he said. The Danube has been blocked along a vital stretch in Serbia since 1999, when NATO bombing destroyed three bridges at the city of Novi Sad. In April a Danish-Hungarian consortium was awarded a 26 million euro contract to begin cleaning debris from the river. Such cleaning, however, has yet to begin, Strasser said. - (Reuters)
