Tui Cruises' Mein Schiff 3 collides with two box ships at Bremerhaven

By James Calloway

Mein Schiff 3 tore open several meters of the port side of a larger container ship after colliding with two box vessels at Bremerhaven, Germany, on 25 October. Bremen Police said the Tui Cruises ship and both container ships faced a sailing ban, and no passenger or crew injuries were reported.

What happened as Mein Schiff 3 left Bremerhaven?

The collision occurred in the late afternoon of Sunday, 25 October, as Mein Schiff 3 began a scheduled 20-night voyage to the Canary Islands in stormy weather. Passenger video showed the cruise ship scraping against a container vessel as it moved away from the quay.

Bremen Police said tugboats were due to assist the departure. Instead, a gust caught the ship, which “drifted towards two container ships” moored near the quay. MSC Victorine was one of the two vessels involved; the account did not identify the other or say whether MSC Victorine was the smaller or larger vessel.

A Tui Cruises spokesperson told the Mirror: “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.”

What damage did the collision cause?

• Smaller container ship: Minor damage.
• Larger container ship: Considerable damage; the collision tore open several meters of its port side and deformed the container guides.
• Mein Schiff 3: Considerable damage to the lifeboats, associated cranes and hull.

Bremen Police did not put a value on the damage, identify the cargo on either container vessel or report lost boxes. It also disclosed no container count, TEU capacity, tonnage or sailing timetable for either ship. That leaves the physical loss clear but the cargo exposure unquantified.

What are the commercial consequences?

For carriers, the sailing ban creates the first measurable operating interruption: none of the three vessels can continue its voyage while the restriction stands. For shippers and forwarders, however, the available information disclosed no cargo condition, revised connection or onward schedule, so neither a delay nor cargo loss can be quantified.

No cargo loss, cargo value, schedule delay or terminal disruption was reported for MSC Victorine or the unnamed second box ship. Without container counts, TEU figures or revised departure times, the incident also supports no measurable conclusion about container rates or broader market capacity. It remains a localized operating event on the disclosed facts.

The cruise line bore a more immediate service consequence. Tui Cruises canceled the 20-night Canary Islands voyage because of safety concerns. Mein Schiff 3, which debuted in 2014, had a listed capacity of 2,506 passengers and 1,000 crew members. No passenger or crew injuries were reported, but the sailing prohibition and canceled voyage stopped the ship’s planned movement.

Tui’s public remarks did not announce a replacement sailing or passenger rebooking plan. The cruise line was contacted for further comment after the spokesperson spoke to the Mirror; no additional detail was reported.

What happens next?

Bremen Police said: “The maritime safety authority has issued a sailing ban for all three vessels. Further investigations by the water police are ongoing.” The statement did not name the authority, give a review timetable or say when the ban could end.

The immediate operational question is whether investigators can establish how the gust and vessel movement produced the contact. Until they do, the maritime safety authority’s ban keeps all three vessels from sailing, and forwarders have no disclosed timetable for replacement capacity.

Further findings may clarify the cause, but until water police close their work and the safety authority lifts the ban, any recovery schedule for Mein Schiff 3, MSC Victorine and the second container ship remains uncertain.