Mein Schiff 3 cruise ship collides with container ship in Bremerhaven

What happened

The cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 3', operated by Tui Cruises, collided with a container ship while leaving the port of Bremerhaven on Sunday, 25 October. The ship was being moved away from the Columbuskaje with the help of tugs when it came into contact with the moored vessel. According to Nordsee-Zeitung, the ship cast off from the quay around 17:00 and strong gusts likely kept it from making headway. Police in Bremen confirmed the collision when asked and said no injuries were known at that stage. Tui Cruises also confirmed the collision and said the ship had returned to the pier.

“According to current knowledge, there are no injuries to people. We will provide further information as soon as confirmed findings are available.”

Damage and the investigation

Tagesschau reports that the port authority confirmed the incident and that no water entered the affected ships. A crack about ten metres long opened in one container ship, and the damage is still being assessed. The water police of the Bremen police are working out the full extent of the damage, and the cause of the collision has not yet been established. A video published on YouTube reportedly shows the cruise ship being pushed off the pier by tugs before it scraped along the moored container ship. The footage also appears to show several lifeboats on the cruise ship being damaged, and NDR reports that the Zevener Zeitung describes damage to the container ship as well.

Passengers and the planned voyage

Neither the police nor Tui Cruises have reported any injuries. Nordsee-Zeitung reported that some passengers were reportedly in shock, and the number of people on board at the time of the collision is not known. The ship was due to set off on a 20-day Canary Islands cruise on Sunday, according to the Tui booking portal cited by Der Tagesspiegel. Whether that voyage can continue as planned is still unclear. The ship entered service in 2014, is about 293 metres long, can carry up to 2,506 passengers and sails under the Maltese flag, with Bremerhaven as its main German home port.

Conflicting accounts

Reports differ on several points. Tagesschau says two container ships were hit, while other outlets refer to a single container ship. Tagesschau places the collision on Sunday afternoon, whereas NDR describes it as happening on Sunday evening. Both tagesschau and the Radio Bremen magazine buten un binnen, as cited by Der Tagesspiegel, report that two tugs were damaged. NDR reports that a storm low named 'Manja' is bringing strong gusts to the North Sea coast. The cause of the collision remains unclear in every report.