Key actors — tap for context
Mein Schiff 3
cruise ship of the German shipping company TUI Cruises for over 2,500 passengers
Why here: while departing, it was blown by a gusty wind into two container ships
More info →TUI Cruises
German cruise shipping company
Why here: cancelled the cruise to the Canary Islands and is sending the ship to the shipyard
More info →
Bremerhaven
port city in northern Germany in the state of Bremen
Why here: the accident occurred in its port
More info →
Canary Islands
Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean
Why here: destination of the cancelled twenty-day cruise
More info →Stromkaje
container terminal in the port of Bremerhaven
Why here: both container ships were moored there
Manja
autumn storm over northern Germany
Why here: was raging at the time of the accident
Spiegel
German news weekly
Why here: asks why the ship even set sail in the storm and whether guests can claim compensation
More info →Tagesschau
main news programme of the German public broadcaster ARD
Why here: broadcast a report on the accident
"Mein Schiff 3" is also seriously damaged — footage shows smashed lifeboats and a damaged captain's bridge. Police estimate the damage at millions of euros and have banned all three ships from sailing, which, according to the Bremen port authority, is standard procedure. Tagesspiegel ↗
Police have initiated administrative offence proceedings against the cruise ship's captain and are examining whether he breached his duty of due care. They did not specify in more detail what exactly he is being accused of. n-tv ↗ Spiegel asks why the ship set sail in the storm at all. Spiegel ↗
In an announcement on board, the captain stated that he was cancelling the cruise "with a heavy heart." In view of the safety of the guests, crew, and the ship, he said this was the only correct decision. n-tv ↗ The shipping company does not yet know whether further cruises planned for this year will take place after the repair. Tagesspiegel ↗
The German public broadcast news programme Tagesschau aired a report on the accident (in German):
*Illustrative photo: the cruise ship "Mein Schiff 3" near Kiel in 2014 (HenSti, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).*
