by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:40 AM ET, Thu July 30, 2026
Nearly 200 river cruise passengers were evacuated from the Viking Ullur this week after it ran aground near the city of Vidin, Bulgaria, as the Danube River faces unprecedentedly low water levels.
Local police and first responders had to evacuate 186 passengers after the ship ran out of food and water and was unable to reach its next port to resupply, according to The Independent. Fifty-two crew members might have been required to remain on board for the ship’s refloating.
Bulgaria’s state news agency BTA reported that the ship ran into a shallow shoal.
TravelPulse has reached out to Viking for an official statement, but did not receive a response before publication. We will update the story with the statement.
Guest V.L. Sorrell, MD, posted photos and images of the incident on X (formerly Twitter).
It’s an all-too-common occurrence for boats along the Danube these days, where record-low water levels have led to marooned cargo ships and the end of pleasure cruising for local operators in Central Europe, particularly.
Several river cruise ships have run aground this year near Budapest, according to previous reports, with some river cruise lines like Avalon Waterways canceling some of their summer Danube cruises due to the record-low water levels.
Around 600,000 river cruise travelers pass through Hungary’s portion of the Danube each year.
Central Europe has been under a prolonged drought this year, with heat waves causing major evaporation and forcing nuclear plants, which rely on river water to cool reactors, to shut down in Romania and Hungary.
Lowering water levels can also introduce old dangers: Budapest closed its Margaret Bridge last week after a World War II-era bomb was found exposed in the water at the base of the bridge. Budapest authorities reported Danube water levels at just 9 inches on Wednesday, July 30, the lowest it has ever been.
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