Viking Var Hits Danube River Lock in Germany

   June 13, 2019 ,   Accidents

On June 5, 2019, the Viking longship Var hit a Danube River lock in Germany. The accident resulted in shutting down to all shipping traffic a section of Main-Donau Kanal (Main-Danube Canal, aka Europa-Kanal).

The closure of the waterway (June 5-14) affected ~25 scheduled cruise itineraries (mainly between homeports Amsterdam Holland and Budapest Hungary). Cruise operators (including Viking, AmaWaterways, Uniworld, Avalon Waterways, Emerald Waterways) had to alter these itineraries by replacing/canceling call ports, transporting passengers by busses or swapping them (between fleet mates).

Viking Var river cruise ship

Viking Var was navigating upriver when it collided with the lock wall at Riedenburg Germany. The lock was damaged so badly that it had to be closed. Viking River Cruises didn't officially confirm or comment on the accident. On the company's website, only itinerary updates were published and that cruises between Regensburg and Nuremberg are currently restricted due to repair works performed on the lock near Riedenburg.

The accident occurred during the 7-day Budapest to Nuremberg cruise (itinerary May 31 - June 7) that visited ports in Austria (Vienna, Melk) and Germany (Passau, Regensburg, Kelheim).

For other Viking Var accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.