German manager Nordic Hamburg has said its boxship Nordic Bremen suffered minor damage in a collision with a warship on Wednesday.

Two containers on the deck of the 1,036-teu ship (built 2011) were also damaged after the incident in the Kiel Canal involving the German frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which suffered a four-metre tear.

"Nordic Bremen was transiting in its correct lane in the traffic separation zone of the Kiel Canal and for unknown reasons was hit to portside by the Mecklenburg Vorpommern," it added.

"There