Tendency towards the erosion of Austrian barge shipping

While passenger shipping shows a positive development on the Danube, and more and more cabin vessels of international groups with a foreign crew is navigating on the river, domestic cargo shipping is being pushed back. “If the situation remains like this, domestic cargo shipping will cease existence“, criticises Wolfram Mosser, Chairman of the professional group of shipping within the Austrian and Lower Austrian Economic Chamber, when talking to the newspaper NÖ Wirtschaftspressedienst.
“The situation is anything other than pleasing, rather existence-threatening. When I was appointed Chairman of the professional group of shipping four periods ago, cargo shipping on the Danube counted 520 employees, now we have three cargo companies with 32 employees. This is on the one hand because inland waterway carriers from EU countries such as Romania and Hungary can carry loads without problems – at lower prices of course – and thus supersede our companies from the market. On the other hand, cargo shipping is not perceived as an ordinary logistician and partners, but is neglected compared to railway or road transport. ”
The capacity of the Danube waterway was available, but is just not used. “To me it seems as if the political will in Europe to use the Danube as an economic waterway, does not exist in Austria,” says Wolfram Mosser. “What is going on in this country, looks more like a game of battleship. This, given the fact that freight transport on the waterway it is environmentally friendlier and cheaper than by rail or road. I appeal to political leaders to take this last note, and not to destroy an entire industry. ”
http://wko.at/noe/schiff; www.wirtschaftspressedienst.at