Bremerhaven, 26 October. TUI Cruises' liner Mein Schiff 3 collided with a container ship while leaving the German port of Bremerhaven in stormy weather on the evening of 25 October; there were 2,428 passengers and 922 crew members on board, and no one was hurt, the company and police said.
Bremen police reported a collision with two container ships, TUI Cruises with one: the berthed MSC Victorine, with a capacity of 16,520 containers. Despite the help of tugs, the 293-metre liner scraped along the container ship about 20 minutes after departure; video shows several of its lifeboats damaged. The container ship's side reportedly suffered a tear about 10 metres long, but no water entered the hull. At the time, gusts from Storm Manja were hitting the North Sea coast.
The liner returned to its berth, and specialists are inspecting the damage. Mein Schiff 3 had been due to set off on a 20-day Canary Islands cruise returning on 14 November; the cruise has been cancelled. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
What it means: A huge liner's departure in storm-force winds ended in a collision that cost thousands of tourists their holiday but injured no one.
Who benefits: Nobody. TUI Cruises faces repair and compensation costs, and the container ship's owner the cost of repairing the hull.
Background: Mein Schiff 3 was built at the shipyard in Turku, Finland, and entered service in 2014; she can carry 2,506 passengers.
