Navigation on Danube river halted

The suspension of traffic on the icy Danube is being discussed at a meeting of the operational headquarters for winter operations this Monday. On Saturday, Transport and Construction Minister Arpad Ersek said that traffic on the Danube River between Bratislava and the Gabcikovo Dam had been halted due to unfavourable weather and ice floes. On Friday, the transport authority issued an order to ban ships from sailing in the section between Bratislava and the Gabcikovo Dam until further notice. "The water carriers have been notified about it and they know the situation," added Ersek. The locks at the Gabcikovo Dam are operated by Slovensky Vodohospodarsky Podnik [Slovak Water Management Company/SVP]. The director of its Bratislava branch Jozef Ducz said that they had suggested the transport authority suspend traffic chiefly for the safety of ship crews.