Shipping companies using the Danube river for international trade throughout Europe say thousands of jobs are at risk and at least 100 barges have been left stranded by the Nato air strikes against Yugoslavia.

Shipping companies in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine say the waterway is blocked in parts by debris from destroyed bridges, leaving them unable to carry out vital trade.

Nato's aim is to disrupt Yugoslavia's transport routes. But the river, which rises in Germany and flows into the Black Sea, is an important trade route for many other countries.

Michael Gray of Lloyd's List shipping magazine said barges from several states, both upstream and downstream of Yugoslavia, are blocked.

"It's very hard indeed to tell the actual number of craft which are involved," he said.

"One substantial shipping company, the Ukrainian Shipping Company, has complained that they have 100 barges stranded in the river," he added.

Trade losing millions

A Romanian shipping company says it has lost millions of dollars because of the blockage and might soon have to make thousands of employees redundant.

The river is used to transport oil orginally from the Caspian into Europe, as well as for grain and other cargoes - most of them just moving through Yugoslavia to somewhere else.