A 1,000ft German-operated cruise ship, the AIDAperla, was torn from its moorings by strong winds and slammed into a seawall at the French port of Le Havre on Tuesday, in an incident captured on video showing the vessel drifting through the harbour before its stern struck a concrete wall. No injuries were reported among the thousands of passengers aboard, though the ship, which was due to call at Southampton next, is now being held in port for damage inspections, disrupting its onward journey to the UK.

Local reports said gusts of up to 68mph hit the port as a weather front moved through, pushing the 984ft vessel away from the pier at around 4pm and snapping its mooring lines. Two boarding gangways were lost or left dangling, and around 500 guests ashore on tours were left stranded on buses until tug boats secured the ship by 6.30pm; a small gash was later reported in the hull. The AIDAperla, which can carry over 3,300 passengers at double occupancy, was midway through a seven-day circuit from Hamburg, and its planned stops in Zeebrugge and Rotterdam have been cancelled, with the ship expected to resume its voyage on Thursday evening and head directly back to Hamburg.