Mein Schiff Relax Cleared After Explosives Alert in Kiel
Roughly two thousand passengers were already aboard as the precautionary response moved them away from the port side and set a safety perimeter of about one hundred fifty meters.
A bomb disposal squad was called to Kiel’s Ostseekai on Wednesday after security screening for TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff Relax produced an explosives alert on four pallets of ships’ stores awaiting loading. Port staff evacuated part of the terminal and areas of the ship while authorities inspected the consignment, then cleared the vessel to continue departure preparations at about 1515.
The incident occurred during embarkation for the ship’s Oslo sailing, with roughly 2,000 passengers already aboard. The precautionary response moved passengers away from the port side and created a safety perimeter of about 150 meters around the affected area.
The alarm was raised at about 1300 in the terminal parking lot, where the pallets, loaded with rolls of steel cable, were being checked before they went aboard. Police told RTL the items activated an explosives detector.
“In accordance with applicable safety procedures, the relevant authorities were immediately informed,” TUI Cruises said. “As a precautionary measure, the terminal and certain areas of the ship were temporarily evacuated to allow for the necessary inspections.”
After the bomb disposal inspection, authorities gave the all-clear and the ship was allowed to resume preparations for its regular 1900 departure. AIS data later showed Mein Schiff Relax had sailed and arrived in Oslo.
The Fincantieri-built Mein Schiff Relax entered service in 2025 as TUI Cruises’ first InTUItion-class ship, at about 160,000 gross tons, with capacity for 3,984 passengers and about 1,535 crew. The ship was alongside Ostseekai, Kiel’s main city-centre cruise terminal on the Kiel Fjord, when the alarm occurred.
