Bulgaria's Transport Ministry has fired Georgi Georgiev, head of the Bulgarian Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River based in the Danube city of Ruse.

The news comes amidst record just as record low level of the Lower Danube, i.e. the Bulgarian-Romanian section – the lowest since 1941 – have been devastating trade and other economic activities depending on the great European river for several weeks.

Georgiev's dismissal came unexpectedly for him, after he has been in charge of the agency for more than 20 years – since 1990.

The head of the Bulgarian Danube Agency was fired Friday at a meeting at the Transport Ministry in Sofia.

He was told by Deputy Transport Minister Kamen Kichev that the ministry is very satisfied with the work of the agency and Georgiev himself, but that there was a "political decision" for his replacement, he told BGNES Monday.

"I wasn't offered another post in the Agency. I have 16 months left until I retire. I jointed the he Bulgarian Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River in 1977 as a hydrotechnical specialist, and had been the Direct since June 10, 1990," he is quoted as saying.

Georgiev discussed his dismissal with the Ruse District Governor, Stefko Burdzhiev, who also said he was surprised by the move of the Transport Ministry.

Georgi Georgiev has also worked as an expert at the Danube Commission in Budapest.

It remains unclear if Georgiev's dismissal has anything to do with the current crisis of commercial navigation of the Danube caused by environmental factors. A captain from the Bulgarian River Shipping company – which is now owned by companies related to the Varna-based group TIM - is rumored to be his replacement.

Bulgaria and Romania recently agreed to delay the badly-needed EU-funded expansion of the Danube waterway in a critical section for the period after 2014.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!