Shippers Union Blocks Danube to Protest Debris

Shippers blocked the Danube on Friday to protest Yugoslav authorities’ failure to unclog the river for navigation after NATO bombing of bridges last year.

Romania’s shippers union placed 15 barges across the river at Calarasi, 60 miles southeast of Bucharest, blocking commercial navigation on that stretch of the river.

During 78 days of airstrikes by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against Yugoslavia last year, three bridges over the Danube at the city of Novi Sad were destroyed, and the debris is blocking traffic coming from Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.

Yugoslavia also has declined to temporarily remove a pontoon bridge in Novi Sad to clear the way for ships.

The pontoon replaces bridges wrecked by NATO bombs.

“The Yugoslav government is violating international law by obstructing navigation at Novi Sad,” shippers union spokesman Barbu Chirita said.

There was no immediate comment on how long the protest would last.

The European Union has authorized up to $19.2 million to pay for clearing the Danube.

The proposal covers the opening of a navigable channel but not reconstruction of the bridges.

“Although Yugoslav authorities have started clearing away the debris of the destroyed bridges, ship movement along the full length of the river could not be resumed earlier than next year,” Helmut Strasser, who heads the Danube Commission of countries bordering the river, said Tuesday during a visit to Bucharest, the Romanian capital.

Romanian shippers have laid off more than 3,500 employees and suffered losses of $150 million since the bombing campaign, according to figures released by local shipping officials.