In the presence of Gerald Klug, Minister of Infrastructure viadonau christened its new downstreaming boat “Halbe Meile“ (half mile) on 18 April. The godmother of the ship, actress Lilian Klebow alias „SOKO Donau”-inspector Penny Lanz. The ship will be deployed on the Danube as of now.
The ship is equipped with state-of-the art measuring instruments to investigate the river bed. The ship can discover shallows that might damage vessels and thus have to be removed. This way viadonau keeps the navigation channel secure – so ships will always have “a hand’s breath of water under the keel” in sailor’s language.
The new boat is 10 metres long, weighs about 4.5 tonnes, has 450 HP and was built at the Linz shipyard. It can navigate at a maximum speed of 50km/h and will be cruising on the Austrian segment of the Danube river.
Gerald Klug, Minister of Infrastructure: “The boat can help us determine dangerous shallows in the river. We can eliminate them and thus ensure a safe journey on the Danube.” The river is an important recreational area for the citizens of Vienna, and an economically important transport way. In Austria about nine million tonnes of goods are transported on the Danube per year.
The „Halbe Meile“ was named after a monument located between Aschach and Neuhaus, Upper Austria, that has been dedicated to safe navigation for more than 200 years. Godmother Lilian Klebow: “The Danube has become dear to my heart both professionally and privately. Thus it is an honour to me, to be the godmother of this ship.” Lilian Klebow is also the ambassador of this year’s Danube Day, dedicated to the motto “Get active“, taking place on 13 June at Vienna’s Museumsquartier (www.danubeday.at).
At viadonau, downstreaming boat trips are very important for the waterway management. “If critical places are discovered, the information is transferred to our experts, so they can take targeted action for maintenance, such as dredging“, says Hasenbichler, Manaigng Director viadonau. Apart from investigating the navigation channel, these trips are aimed to manage river bank constructions, berths, harbour entries, up- and downstream levels at locks.
