Cruise ship collides with two ships leaving Bremerhaven port

The cruise ship Mein Schiff 3 collided with two container ships as it left the German port of Bremerhaven in strong winds on Sunday evening, operator TUI Cruises and police said. No one on any of the three vessels was injured.

Tugboats were guiding the ship out of harbour in stormy weather when a gust pushed it into vessels moored at the Stromkaje quay at around 5.30pm, police said. Officers were initially told only one container ship had been struck; they later said a second container ship was also hit, bringing the total to three vessels involved.

Eyewitness video verified by the news agency dpa showed the Mein Schiff 3, assisted by tugboats, drifting closer to a moored container ship in heavy swell before striking it. "I think that's the end of the trip," a woman is heard saying on the recording.

There were 2,428 guests and 922 crew on board the Mein Schiff 3 at the time, TUI Cruises said. None of the three ships took on water, police said, though all were barred from sailing while the damage is inspected.

The collision tore open the container ship's hull along several metres on its port side and deformed its container guides, police said. The cruise ship's lifeboats, their cranes and its outer hull were also damaged. Photographs taken afterwards showed debris floating in the water around the pier.

TUI Cruises cancelled the ship's next voyage, to the Canary Islands, saying it needed repairs at a shipyard and that calling off the trip was "the only responsible decision". Passengers were told on Monday morning to return home, broadcaster NDR reported.

Germany's water police are investigating the cause of the collision, which happened as storm Manja brought a new storm-surge warning to the North Sea coast, broadcaster Tagesschau reported.