notamermaid

While doing a bit of research on the MS Heidelberg, I came across the webcam of Engelhartszell. A really good one with an archive search function. Here it is. A busy place these days with river cruise ships. And a very attractive Baroque monastery, looks an even prettier setting than I had expected: https://engelhartszell.panomax.com/penzenstein Today's footage shows the MS Heidelberg indeed docked there, as I expected from her signal yesterday. Reports have stated that she would return to Passau from Budapest. That may still happen, but Engelhartszell is very much an alternative embarkation port (for Passau) for German river cruise ships these days. Still no clue as to which company is chartering the ship. If you happen to be in Engelhartszell yourself, perhaps you happen to "bump into" some info. notamermaid

That is nice. Have been to Berlin and Prague but have not sailed on either the Spree or the Vltava on a boat. Incidentally, the Berounka appears to be high right now. The heavy rain came down over the forests but not the Vltava and Elbe so much. But as the Berounka drains into the Vltava the Elbe will see quite a bit of water coming from there. How that will play out in water levels we will have a look at in the other thread. But back to the Danube. Regensburg is seeing the elevated levels of the Regen but not a big deal. Passau is already down again and stayed under 600cm as expected. notamermaid

Correction of the info on the ship accident. The tanker did not hit another ship. They passed each other near the bridge. The ship will remain in Cochem and does not hinder traffic on the river. notamermaid

In other news. A fire broke out during the night Tuesday into Wednesday on a river cruise ship in Arnhem. The Bellejour is docked there as a boat for asylum seekers. Another ship, the MS VistaRio is used as such a boat. She is docked in Meppel and replaced the MS Heidelberg earlier this year which sailed to the Danube and has just been involved in an accident. I know of two more river cruise ships used for purposes that they were not designed for, one is on the Danube and one more is on the Rhine. That is the MS Viola, used for Ukranians. At Rüdesheim, a river cruise ship hit a buoy while turning and tore it from its anchorage. The ship sailed on without reporting the damage but another's ships crew saw it and reported it to the police. The MS Porto Mirante, the 40th ship of Scylla, was christened in Düsseldorf earlier this month. She is now in Boven-Hardinxveld in the Netherlands, awaiting her transport to Portugal. notamermaid

Mysticinvest is the company that took over the Nicko Cruises brand after the collapse: https://www.pluta.net/en/press/press-release/restructuring-expert-mr-michael-pluta-sells-nicko-cruises-to-mystic-invest.html This may or may not mean that the ship was with Nicko Cruises. Ships often belong to some one else, like is the case with the Scylla ships sailing for various companies. It is a curious case with the ship. As noted by "swiss ships" the KFGS* Heidelberg was deleted from the Swiss register, they give the date as 28.3.2024. https://www.swiss-ships.ch/news/news.html That would almost coincide with the sailing from Köln-Niehl harbour to Budapest (or further) and the change of livery noted in a photo from 1 April. According to the news reports the ship was on an itinerary with passengers, I presume a return trip Engelhartszell. Something that happens often with German cruise lines these days. But it is not clear what the nationality of the passengers is. The ship is due to arrive at Engelhartszell during the night. *KFGS is Kabinenfahrgastschiff, the official German word for a river cruise ship. None of that explains why on earth the tragedy happened. I just find it interesting to note the recent history of the ship. notamermaid

In the Danube thread I wrote: quote "It appears that Nicko Cruises is not running the MS Heidelberg this year. I guess it is a different, perhaps only part-season, charter by someone else. The company offering the MS Heidelberg for charter is this one: https://www.starlingfleet.com/en/our-fleet/ " end quote When I click on the link it does not work, i.e. some host message comes up. Odd. Perhaps it works with you from a different country. notamermaid

The forecast at Maxau gauge has been amended for the better, now there appears to be not another peak, let us call it a more undulating graph. The level will stay high overall, also because it has rained in Switzerland where levels are above average in lakes and rivers, but pleasant. notamermaid

The Bavarian Forest has seen a lot of rain which will drain into the Danube via the Regen river to a large degree. That is the river that gives Regensburg its name. As of now, we are seeing a rise at Passau but staying under 600cm most likely in the next 24 hours. Now at 584cm. notamermaid

I have put a bit of info in the Danube thread. After some digging I gave up on figuring out the current info on the ship. Nicko Cruises gave the ship up with the end of the season in 2022. Nicko Cruises was never the owner, it was a long term charter with Nicko branding. notamermaid

Bridges. On the Moselle they are generally relatively high when they are modern, but there are a few lower ones, old with arches. That always poses a problem. In Koblenz a bridge lost almost half of its arches when the lock was built in such a way as to bring the river to modern waterway status. I am picking up on this topic for two reasons. Firstly, an interesting article with photo that I will share later. Secondly, the fact that the Viking Herja is still docked at Koblenz, now for over 48 hours. As I understand it, she is doing the itineraries on the Moselle. I do not know details. Now the Viking Idi has arrived in Koblenz, another ship that sails on the Moselle. Not sure if they are connected "ship swap style" like the company does it on the Basel to Amsterdam itineraries on the Rhine with other ships. If you know more, folks, please share: I notice that neither of them are at the Viking Steiger, that is Viking's own landing stage. I guess this will soon be occupied by the B to A itinerary ships. notamermaid

More details. The tanker first collided with a ship sailing downstream and then hit the bridge arch with the wheelhouse. Thankfully, it was confirmed that there was no leakage but the tanker was deemed unsafe to manoeuvre, the radar and instruments having suffered damage. The bridge is under structural investigation, as I understand it, but I do not read that it is closed. The river is of course still high so navigation under bridges is more tricky. With embankment roads partially closed and some low lying villages and streets flooded, the tourist regions of the Moselle have suffered great losses over this past holiday weekend. notamermaid

The rain has drifted much into Bavaria so we will see a reaction of the rivers in due course. For now it appears that this will not be considerable. There should still be plenty of headroom under the bridge in Passau. notamermaid

A tanker has hit the old bridge at Cochem. Earlier this evening the ship drifted too far to the left towards one of the arches and suffered considerable damage to the wheelhouse. One crew member sustained a mild injury, the captain seems okay. No leakage. It is no yet clear how much damage there is to the bridge. notamermaid

You could always jump ship and company and sail with CroisiEurope or Viva Cruises. But even with those companies it is not a guarantee, just a lower price (I think) and a different experience, i.e. more European. The Elbe is a trickier river with more uncertainty than others and Viking as well as the other companies have adapted to that. Still, as one can see from AnhalterER1960's excellent research, a river cruise on the free-flowing Elbe is not guaranteed to run even with the specially designed ships and the summer gaps. May is overall a good month though. notamermaid

The river is recovering well, with all stations up to Rees now showing declining levels. That means the wave is now at the border with the Netherlands. With the lower temperatures and the continued rainy weather we will not see the levels at the gauges going down much more. At Maxau a new wave is indicated for the 25th but as of now does not look as high as the one that has just passed over the weekend. Kaub will of course also remain high and most likely stay above 300cm for a week. It has been a wet winter that has replenished the water table more than previous winters have been able to. The spring rain has added to that. I show you what I mean, the gauge at Maxau is running well above the long-term mean on many days as regards water levels. 2024 so far, the blue line: So while the rain is a bit annoying, overall this gives us plenty of water in the soil and me a good feeling for days without any rain in summer. But, never a guarantee with the rivers... You can see the wide range of figures at Maxau and by how much the level can vary any time of year. notamermaid

The size of ship is actually an interesting point to make. Just a bit of info on that. Ships on the European rivers are maximum 135m in length due to locks and regulations, with some rivers and canals needing smaller ships. 110m or what I call the "in-betweeners" used to be the norm. These days if the river allows it, almost all newly built ships are 135m. The width varies a lot but 11.5m is the width to go for in ship design these days (again, if the river allows it). Just to add to Daisi's info: There are two other ships on the Danube that are wider than 11.5m and the new Arosa Sena is also wider, but only sailing the Rhine downstream from Cologne. For space these are great ships to look at, I will admit that the Sena is geared towards families, which you may not want on your river cruise. The small advantage of shorter ships - that is 110m to 135m - is the fact that they tend to have a lower draft, good for the crucial centimetres between sailing and not sailing in low water conditions. I would not base my decision solely on that, I just thought I would add it to the info. The advantage will mostly help on the German Danube but can in some years help on the Rhine as well. notamermaid

Brief update. More rain is challenging the Saar valley and hills which is of course more work for the Moselle. The weather pattern is similar to a few days ago in that the East is seeing little rain: But for now things are looking promising for the river. Trier is down to 557cm, Cochem to 519cm. At Koblenz the Moselle is also well past the peak as well. notamermaid

Yes, it appears the ship has completely gone from Nicko Cruises then. The company in the background, i.e. the owner, is anonymous as it says on their website. The branding with livery goes to someone else. Which of course makes me wonder: who is using the ship and why was it repainted in Budapest? Or was it in Serbia in the time frame that the ship spotters did not see the ship on the Danube, i.e. a few weeks this spring? Perhaps someone out there knows (apart from the insurance company). notamermaid

Catering for a health problem - here is a special gluten-free cruise offer from Amawaterways: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/AmaWaterways-partner-celiac-cruise-gluten-free-cruises?ct=river notamermaid

The Rhine is very popular for first time cruisers to try. If you would prefer to spend longer on the river than seven days you could combine it with the Moselle. That takes it to ten days or more. I cannot remember who does it of the North American lines, this is a European one: https://www.rivieratravel.co.uk/river-cruises/long-cruises The issue I have with Viking is the early full payment policy, the worst terms of all companies I know (for North Americans). River water level conditions are something that can indeed surprise the unsuspecting new river cruiser. Ship swaps are a fairly smooth solution to the problem. notamermaid

It is a weird one. According to the guys on Binnenschifferforum, the MS Heidelberg had already left the fleet of Nicko Cruises by 2023, meaning last year was already not sailing for the company but was used as a ship for asylum seekers, docked in Meppen in the Netherlands for almost a year. I saw an article that the owner wanted it back (for 2024 apparently) and so a different ship took over to become a ship for asylum seekers. After a short stop in the harbour in Köln-Niehl she sailed to the Danube in March of this year and was in Budapest with new livery in blue in April. No idea who the charterer is... notamermaid

@steamboats It appears that Nicko Cruises is not running the MS Heidelberg this year. I guess it is a different, perhaps only part-season, charter by someone else. The company offering the MS Heidelberg for charter is this one: https://www.starlingfleet.com/en/our-fleet/ Had not looked into that provider before, not as many ships as Scylla but not a small fleet either. They also have "my" MS Belvedere, so it looks like they have taken over ships from Premicon. notamermaid

I see. Thank you for the additional info. By the way, while the ship has sailed in the past for Nicko Cruises there are no cruises listed by the company for the MS Heidelberg this year. It is not clear which charter it is, I could not find any info on that. However, the ship is listed as being part of the Starling Fleet: https://www.starlingfleet.com/en/our-fleet/ notamermaid

Thank you for the info. That is quite the accusation. It brings back unhappy memories of the tragic incident in Budapest. That captain was tried and sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment. The five year anniversary of that fatal accident is coming up at the end of the month. notamermaid

So much can change within a week and indeed on the Danube it is possible to get from a relatively low level to flooding in three days. We have just seen the wave at the Saar and Moselle rivers that has much disrupted shipping of all types. We have a weather pattern that brings little rain to the Elbe - it is again indicated to happen like that tomorrow into Wednesday - so let us have a look. We are in the realm of levels on the Elbe that means the German river sections rely on the Czechs to release enough water to keep shipping going at ease. This is what has happened in the last 31 days: Things are looking a bit better at 105cm so I guess ships are moving okay. If the Elbe basin does get little rain again I cannot see this improving. notamermaid