A TUI Cruises ship carrying more than 3,000 passengers and crew collided with two container ships at a German port after being caught by a gust of wind, forcing the cancellation of its planned voyage to the Canary Islands.
The Mein Schiff 3 was leaving Bremerhaven in northern Germany shortly after setting off on a 20-day trip when the collision occurred at around 5.30pm on Sunday. The vessel was carrying 2,428 passengers and 922 crew members, according to police.
Collision Caught on Camera
Footage filmed by passengers shows the distance between the cruise liner and one of the container ships rapidly narrowing before they hit. A loud impact can be heard as people watching from the deck shout and move away from the side of the ship.
Police said the cruise liner was being assisted by tugboats when a gust of wind pushed it towards the two moored container ships. No injuries have been reported.
Damage and Immediate Response
The collision damaged lifeboats, their cranes and the hull of Mein Schiff 3. The port side of one of the container ships was ripped open across several metres, and its container guides were damaged. Despite the damage, police said none of the vessels took on water. All three ships were subsequently ordered not to sail.
Mein Schiff 3 returned to the Columbuskaje quay, where technical teams and experts began examining the damage. Captain Jan Schubert told passengers: "Fortunately, according to the current information, nobody was injured. At the same time, we have already identified initial damage to the ship, which is now being thoroughly examined by experts."
Cancellation and Next Steps
Passengers were initially allowed to remain aboard, with restaurants and bars continuing to operate while the vessel remained alongside overnight. TUI Cruises later confirmed the ship would require urgent repairs at a shipyard and announced that the planned Canary Islands cruise had been cancelled.
A spokesperson said: "We can confirm that, as the Mein Schiff 3 was leaving Bremerhaven in the late afternoon of 25 October, a collision occurred with two container ships. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority. We are therefore very relieved that, according to current information, no one has been injured."
TUI Cruises said cancelling the voyage had been an "extremely difficult" decision but was necessary to maintain its safety standards. The spokesperson added: "We know how much our guests were looking forward to this cruise and deeply regret the inconvenience this causes. At the same time, we are convinced that this is the only responsible decision to ensure our high safety standards are maintained. Our focus is now on keeping our guests as well informed as possible, looking after them and supporting them with the next steps. We will proactively provide further information as soon as reliable findings are available."
