All 180 Survive After Tanker Hits New Orleans Cruise Boat on Mississippi River/ NEWSLOOKS/ WASHINGTON/ Jehan Mansour/ All 180 passengers and crew survived after a tanker struck the docked American Heritage cruise boat in New Orleans on Friday. The collision caused the cruise vessel to take on water and overturn, prompting a rescue operation involving police, tugboats and nearby workers. Thirty-two people were hospitalized without critical injuries, while investigators examined a possible steering failure aboard the tanker.
New Orleans Cruise Boat Collision: Quick Look
- Everyone accounted for: Officials confirmed that all 180 people aboard the cruise boat survived.
- Hospital treatment: Thirty-two people were taken to hospitals; none had critical injuries.
- Vessels involved: The Atlantic Asphalt tanker struck the docked American Heritage.
- Rapid flooding: The cruise boat began listing within minutes and overturned during the evacuation.
- Possible steering failure: The Coast Guard said the tanker appeared to have experienced a steering problem, but the cause remained undetermined.
- Investigation planned: The National Transportation Safety Board’s initial travel was disrupted by the nationwide FAA ground stop.
- Cruise itinerary: American Heritage was completing an eight-day voyage through Louisiana and Mississippi.
New Orleans Cruise Boat Collision: Deep Look
All Passengers and Crew Survive Mississippi River Crash
NEW ORLEANS — All 180 people aboard a docked river cruise boat survived Friday after a much larger tanker struck the vessel, causing it to flood and overturn in the Mississippi River.
The collision between the Atlantic Asphalt tanker and American Heritage triggered a rescue effort as passengers and crew entered the water and emergency workers raced to evacuate those still aboard.
“We have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi,” New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said at a news conference, drawing cheers from rescuers and others.
Moreno said 32 people were taken to hospitals, but none suffered critical injuries.
Cruise Boat Overturns During Evacuation
Video showed the tanker striking American Heritage while the cruise boat was docked, with metal and glass breaking under the impact.
The cruise vessel began listing within minutes and overturned while emergency personnel were still working to get everyone off.
Tugboat operators, port workers, police and crews from nearby vessels joined the rescue. Dozens of people, including at least two police officers, were pulled from the river onto nearby ships.
The water temperature was approximately 66 degrees Fahrenheit, or 19 degrees Celsius.
Devon Flanagan, who was working nearby at the Port of New Orleans, said he left his truck after seeing workers rush toward the dock. He found the cruise boat on its side and people in the water.
“It was just chaos,” Flanagan said. “You had all types of ships, like other barges and other companies down there trying to help out, which also was a little convoluted because you had people still in the water.”
Possible Tanker Steering Failure Under Investigation
Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham said the tanker appeared to have experienced “some type of loss of steering,” although the exact cause had not been established.
The National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate. Its personnel were initially unable to reach New Orleans because a nationwide FAA ground stop disrupted air travel following communications problems at air traffic control facilities.
Martin Davies, a maritime law expert at Tulane University, said video suggested a serious system failure aboard the tanker. He cautioned that it was too early to determine what happened.
Davies said the ship was moving slowly upriver against the current when it struck the cruise boat.
“For something like this to happen for an upbound ship indicates that something must have gone really badly wrong,” he said.
The tanker had already navigated the Mississippi River’s difficult Algiers Point turn before the collision, Davies noted. Ships operating in those waters carry local pilots to help guide their passage.
Roll Call Confirms Everyone Is Accounted For
Cruise officials conducted a roll call at a nearby auditoriumwhere people who did not require hospital care were gathered.
Moreno said many survivors were visiting from outside New Orleans and had lost identification, phones, car keys and other belongings.
“They needed chargers for their phones. Some people didn’t have phones,” she said. “This has now made national news. They need to contact their families to let them know they’re OK. Food, hotel rooms, transportation.”
The immediate response therefore extended beyond rescue and medical treatment to arranging accommodation, meals and ways for survivors to contact relatives.
American Heritage Was Completing Eight-Day Cruise
American Heritage, operated by American Cruise Lines, was built in 2015.
The five-story vessel can accommodate up to 150 passengers, in addition to its crew. It was finishing an eight-day itinerary that included Mississippi River destinations in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The tanker, Atlantic Asphalt, is approximately 520 feet, or 160 meters, long and sails under the Marshall Islands flag, according to MarineTraffic. Its listed destination was New Orleans.
The tanker specializes in transporting asphalt and bitumen, materials commonly used in road construction and roofing.
Tanker Ownership Linked to Chinese Shipbuilding Group
International Maritime Organization records identify the tanker’s owner as Nave Shipping SA, a company registered in Monrovia, Liberia.
According to MarineTraffic, the company is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp., a major Chinese state-owned conglomerate.
A Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report said the Chinese group accounted for nearly a quarter of the global commercial shipbuilding market in 2022 and was also the world’s largest military shipbuilder at that time.
China State Shipbuilding Corp. did not respond to an emailed request for comment Friday afternoon.
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