Mein Schiff 3 Collision: What Happened in Bremerhaven
A wind gust pushed TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 3 into two moored container ships in Bremerhaven. Nobody was hurt, but the 20-day Canary Islands cruise is cancelled and police are investigating.
- Mein Schiff 3 struck two moored container ships while leaving Bremerhaven, Germany, around 16:00 UTC on October 25, 2026, after police say a gust pushed it off course.
- None of the 2,428 guests and 922 crew were injured, but lifeboats and the hull were damaged and one container ship has a tear of about 10 metres.
- TUI Cruises cancelled the 20-day Canary Islands cruise for shipyard repairs, and Bremen's water police are investigating.
TUI Cruises' ship Mein Schiff 3 hit two moored container ships as it left the German port of Bremerhaven on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Police say a strong gust of wind pushed it off course. None of the 2,428 guests or 922 crew were injured, but lifeboats and the hull were damaged, and TUI Cruises cancelled the 20-day Canary Islands cruise that had just begun.
As of October 26, 2026, the water police are investigating and the ship needs shipyard repairs. Below is what is confirmed, what is still unclear, and what it means for passengers.
What happened in Bremerhaven?
The ship left its berth at around 5pm local time (16:00 UTC) on Sunday, t-online reported; Cruise Hive put the collision at about 5:30pm (16:30 UTC). Germany had switched from summer time to standard time (CET, UTC+1) early that morning; our clock-change explainer covers why clocks change.
Two tugboats were helping with the departure, according to touristik aktuell. Police said a gust caught the cruise ship and drove it toward two container ships moored at the Stromkaje, Bremerhaven's long container quay. It struck the smaller ship first and then drifted into the larger one, Radio Bremen's buten un binnen reported. Eyewitness video verified by the dpa news agency shows tugs trying and failing to push the ship clear. A woman in the video says: "Ich glaube, das war es mit der Reise" (I think that's the end of the trip).
The German Weather Service (DWD) had issued a gust warning for Bremerhaven that day as low-pressure system Manja passed through, Tagesspiegel reported. Reports differ on how strong the wind was. Cruise Hive cited a DWD warning of gusts up to 55 km/h, while the local Nordsee-Zeitung described hurricane-force gusts. No official wind reading for the moment of impact had been published by Monday.
After the collision the ship returned to the Columbuskaje cruise terminal. In its first statement, issued at 20:19 local time (19:19 UTC), Bremen police said no one had been hurt and that the cause and full extent of the damage were still being established.
Damage and injuries
- Injuries: none on any of the three ships, police confirmed.
- Mein Schiff 3: considerable damage to lifeboats, the davits (cranes) that hold them, and the outer hull. A photo caption in the dpa coverage also points to damage near the bridge.
- Larger container ship: a tear of about 10 metres in its side, according to the port authority, plus bent container guides.
- Smaller container ship: minor damage.
- Water ingress: none. The damage was several metres above the waterline, Tagesspiegel reported.
Early reports mentioned only one container ship before police confirmed three vessels were involved. Authorities have not officially named the container ships. Cruise Hive identified one as MSC Victorine from video footage and said a second, MSC Anne F, may have been touched; treat those names as unconfirmed.
The ship safety authority first barred all three vessels from sailing. The ban was later lifted for the least damaged container ship but still applies to Mein Schiff 3 and the larger container ship, buten un binnen reported.
What TUI Cruises has said
On Sunday evening TUI Cruises confirmed the accident. "According to our current information, there are no injuries," the company said, Cruise Industry News reported, adding that it would share more once findings were confirmed.
On Monday a spokeswoman said: "Die festgestellten Schäden machen kurzfristige Reparaturarbeiten in einer Werft erforderlich", meaning the damage found requires short-term repairs at a shipyard, as quoted by dpa. TUI Cruises told touristik aktuell that cancelling was the only responsible decision to protect its safety standards, that the decision was very hard, and that it regretted the inconvenience to guests.
Captain Jan Schubert told guests in an onboard announcement that the voyage would not go ahead, the Nordsee-Zeitung reported. Passengers left the ship on Monday morning, and shuttle buses took them from the port. As of October 26, the company's online press room had no formal release about the incident, so the statements above come via the media.
The cancelled itinerary
Mein Schiff 3 was starting a 20-night voyage to the Canary Islands. According to Cruise Hive, the route began with several sea days before a first call at Porto, Portugal, on October 29, followed by stops in Portugal, the Canary Islands, Morocco and Spain, ending in Bremerhaven on November 14.
The next scheduled departure is a Norway round trip from Bremerhaven on November 14. TUI Cruises could not yet say whether it will sail, touristik aktuell reported. No shipyard or repair timetable has been announced. A Nordsee-Zeitung headline said the Bremerhaven-based Rönner group is ready to take on repair work after the accident, but there is no sign it has been hired.
What passengers can expect
Travel lawyer Kay Rodegra told dpa, via Tagesspiegel, that guests are generally entitled to a full refund when a cruise is cancelled right at the start. He said there is no legal right to a replacement trip, though one can be agreed, and guests may turn an offer down. Compensation for lost holiday time may be possible unless the operator can show it was not at fault, for example because of unavoidable extraordinary circumstances. This is general information, not legal advice; affected guests should check TUI Cruises' offer and their booking terms.
The investigation
The Wasserschutzpolizei (water police) of Bremen police is leading the inquiry. Officers are checking whether the captain breached his duty of care, which would be treated as an Ordnungswidrigkeit, a regulatory offence rather than a crime, buten un binnen reported. An investigation does not mean anyone has been found at fault.
The answer matters beyond the port. Rodegra stressed that responsibility for the accident must be established first, because it affects what passengers can claim. Key questions include how strong the gust was, what the tugs could do in those conditions, and how the decision to depart was made.
About the ship
Mein Schiff 3 was built by STX Finland in Turku and delivered in May 2014. It is 293.2 metres long, measures 99,526 gross tonnes, has about 2,500 lower berths and sails under the Maltese flag, according to its Wikipedia entry. On Sunday it was nearly full, with 2,428 guests aboard.
Our take
Based on the reporting so far, this was a harbour accident in severe wind, not an emergency at sea. With roughly 3,350 people aboard and no injuries, the outcome could have been far worse. The visible damage is mostly high on the hull and to lifeboats, which fits TUI's description of short-term shipyard repairs.
The open questions are practical: how long repairs take, whether the November 14 Norway sailing goes ahead, and what TUI offers affected guests beyond a refund. Those answers depend on the inspection and the police inquiry, so expect updates over the coming days.
What to watch next
- A TUI Cruises decision on the November 14 Norway cruise and any later sailings.
- Confirmation of which shipyard will carry out repairs, and for how long.
- Findings from the Bremen water police on the cause and the captain's duty of care.
- Official identification of the container ships and their repair needs.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Mein Schiff 3?
On Sunday, October 25, 2026, Mein Schiff 3 collided with two moored container ships while leaving Bremerhaven, Germany, in stormy weather. Police say a gust pushed the ship toward the quay despite tug assistance. It returned to the cruise terminal afterwards.
Was anyone injured in the Mein Schiff 3 collision?
No. Police and TUI Cruises said nobody was injured on any of the three ships. There were 2,428 guests and 922 crew on the cruise ship.
Is the Mein Schiff 3 cruise cancelled?
Yes. TUI Cruises cancelled the 20-day Canary Islands voyage because the damage needs short-term shipyard repairs. As of October 26, 2026, the company had not confirmed whether the November 14 Norway cruise from Bremerhaven will go ahead.
Who is investigating the Mein Schiff 3 accident?
The water police unit of Bremen police is investigating, including whether the captain breached his duty of care as a possible regulatory offence. No findings have been published yet.
Will Mein Schiff 3 passengers get a refund?
A travel lawyer quoted by dpa said guests are generally entitled to a full refund when a cruise is cancelled right at the start, with no legal right to a replacement trip. Passengers should check TUI Cruises' official offer and their booking terms; this is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- POL-HB: Nr.: 0690 - Kreuzfahrtschiff kollidiert mit Containerschiffen in Bremerhaven, Polizei Bremen (presseportal)
- Kreuzfahrtschiff Mein Schiff 3 kollidierte mit Containerschiffen: Tui sagt Kanaren-Reise ab, Tagesspiegel (dpa)
- TUI Cruises: Reiseabsage nach Kollision der Mein Schiff 3, touristik aktuell
- Mein Schiff 3: Aufnahmen zeigen den Moment der Kollision in Bremerhaven, t-online
- Crash mit Frachtern in Bremerhaven: Tui sagt Kanaren-Kreuzfahrt ab, buten un binnen (Radio Bremen)
- Mein Schiff 3 Damaged Leaving Bremerhaven, Cruise Industry News
- Mein Schiff 3 Lifeboats Torn Apart in Bremerhaven Container Ship Collision, Cruise Hive
- Dramatische Szenen auf Mein Schiff 3: Schiff kracht in Bremerhaven in Containerriesen, Nordsee-Zeitung
- Tui sagt Reise der Mein Schiff 3 nach Unfall ab, Nordsee-Zeitung (dpa)
- Nach Kollision in Bremerhaven: Reise der Mein Schiff 3 abgesagt, Nordsee-Zeitung
- Nach Havarie in Bremerhaven: Rönner-Gruppe bereit für Reparaturaufträge, Nordsee-Zeitung
- Mein Schiff 3, Wikipedia
- Presse, TUI Cruises
How we wrote this
GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 13 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 26, 2026, and we update the post when they change.
