A Two-Ship Collision Has Now Cost Mein Schiff 3 a Second Cruise

TUI Cruises has cancelled a second consecutive sailing of Mein Schiff 3, the German-market ship that struck two container vessels as it left Bremerhaven on October 25. The casualty is the 14-night Norway round trip that was due to depart Bremerhaven on November 14 and return on November 28. The line says repair work at the Lloyd Werft shipyard, where the ship has been berthed since November 1, simply needs more time than first planned. TUI’s statement put the emphasis on safety, saying the wellbeing of guests and crew comes first.

The original accident happened at the start of a 20-day Canary Islands cruise, with 2,428 passengers and 922 crew aboard. Strong winds reportedly pushed the ship toward the moored container vessels even with tugboats assisting. Several lifeboats, their launching gear and sections of the hull were damaged, and one of the container ships was badly hit as well. Nobody was hurt and no water entered any of the vessels, but German authorities classified the event as a serious casualty, the second-highest of five severity levels.

That Canary Islands voyage was scrapped the day after the collision, once an initial inspection showed the extent of the damage. Lifeboats are not a cosmetic issue: a ship cannot sail with paying passengers unless its lifesaving equipment is complete and certified, which is why the timeline depends on the shipyard rather than on the cruise line’s booking calendar. Guests on that first sailing had boarded expecting nearly three weeks in the Canaries and never left Germany.

TUI now plans to bring Mein Schiff 3 back on November 28 with a four-night Bremerhaven to Kiel sailing via Oslo, though it says that date still depends on how the repairs progress. Coverage of the cancellation has not spelled out compensation terms, so anyone holding a late-November booking on the ship should confirm their options directly with TUI Cruises or their travel agent before making onward plans.

Sources: Cruise Industry News, CruiseMapper