(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 10 GEN - Shipping in the Bulgarian section of the Danube has been prohibited, after ice floes covered more than 80 per cent of the river's surface close to the city of Rousse. The order entered into force on Tuesday. All ships passing through the Bulgarian section must dock at the nearest port, because floating ice poses a hazard of shipping. Hungarian river supervision authorities have also banned shipping on the Danube on the Hungarian stretch of the river. At the Bulgarian town of Silistra, the ice cover of the Danube was more than 70 per cent, while at Vidin, it was more than 80, The Sofia Globe said. More than 20 vessels, mostly Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Romanian, are stuck in the area.

The Danube is one of Europe's main river arteries. It has frozen over 28 times in the past 117 years, Bulgarian National Radio said. For the coming days of January, the forecast is that ice cover will expand and the shipping ban is likely to be extended.

(ANSA).