Gauge Hofkirchen is on the Danube at kilometre 2257, on the km 2282–2231 stretch. The RNW is 207 cm and the fairway depth maintained below it (TuRNW) is 200 cm; after deducting 30 cm of safety margin the official rule of thumb comes out at Hofkirchen -37. In practice Hofkirchen -45 is used here upstream and Hofkirchen -40 downstream. At high water a Marke of 480 cm applies here. This gauge has 2 forecast sources: the 3-day forecast from Elwis (green) and the 6-week forecast from the BAfG (blue, set the time range to 6 weeks to see it). Upstream lies Deggendorf, downstream Passau Donau.
Leightering on the Danube (Straubing–Vilshofen)
Because the last 70‑km bottleneck between Straubing and Vilshofen on the Danube was never upgraded, a 250 cm loading draft is possible there on average only ~144 days per year. By contrast, the Rhine at Kaub allows this about ~300 days per year, as does the free‑flowing Austrian Danube. As a result, ships often arrive with too much draft and must transship part of the cargo in Regensburg (downstream) or Passau (upstream) onto additional vessels ("leightering") to reduce draft and pass this stretch. Afterwards, the cargo is often reloaded, or—if the destination is near Passau/Regensburg (e.g., Enns or Kelheim)—they proceed together to the discharge port.