Bulgarian Danube agency takes part in MEDEVAC-2026 exercise

An interagency MEDEVAC-2026 exercise was held on the Bulgarian section of the Danube River, focusing on emergency assistance to a vessel, medical evacuation of casualties and ensuring the safety of the fairway. The Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River joined the exercise with two of its vessels — Osam and Iskar.

The exercise also involved teams from the General Directorate for Emergency Rescue Activities, the River Supervision Directorate, the Regional Directorate of Border Police, the Emergency Medical Assistance Centre, the regional 112 emergency centre and the RIS Centre in Ruse.

According to the scenario, an emergency occurred on board the motor vessel Venus, sailing under the Serbian flag. The captain was seriously injured, and the vessel remained anchored without control. After a call was made to the 112 emergency number, a coordinated rescue operation was launched, followed by medical evacuation of the injured and their transport to a medical facility.

A separate element of the scenario concerned the situation in which the motor vessel remained without control on the fairway. This required the involvement of specialised equipment from the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River to secure the affected section of the fairway by placing illuminated floating navigation marks.

Such joint exercises are important for strengthening institutional readiness to respond to real emergency situations on inland waterways. They make it possible not only to test operational coordination among services, but also to assess the practical capacity of the river safety system — from receiving an emergency signal to medical evacuation, traffic regulation and navigation support.

IDR commentary

For the Danube region, such exercises have significance that goes beyond Bulgaria’s national safety system. The Danube is an international transport artery where an emergency involving a single vessel can rapidly create risks for navigation, environmental safety, border control and cross-border logistics.

According to experts of the Institute of Danube Research, MEDEVAC-2026 demonstrates the importance of interagency coordination on the river:

“Danube safety is shaped not only by port and fairway infrastructure, but also by the ability of services to respond quickly and coherently to emergency situations. The participation of specialised vessels, rescue units, medical services, border police and river supervision bodies shows that effective risk management on the Danube requires regular practical training.”

For Ukraine, this experience is also relevant, especially given the growing role of Ukrainian Danube ports, the intensity of navigation and the need to maintain safe logistics routes in the Lower Danube region. The system of emergency response, medical evacuation, marking of hazardous fairway sections and coordination among civilian, rescue, border and navigation structures should be regarded as an integral part of regional transport resilience.

IDR believes that the development of such exercise formats at the international level — involving Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and other Danube states — could strengthen joint preparedness for emergencies on the Danube. This is particularly important in conditions where river routes perform not only an economic but also a strategic function for export logistics, humanitarian security and Ukraine’s European integration.