NEW ORLEANS (AP) — On Friday, a tanker ship in New Orleans lost steering control and crashed into a docked river cruise boat, the American Heritage, which was carrying 180 passengers. The incident prompted a significant rescue operation in the Mississippi River, as passengers and crew members fell into the water when the cruise boat began to take on water and list dangerously.
Footage captured at the scene showed the Atlantic Asphalt tanker, significantly larger than the cruise ship, colliding with the American Heritage, creating a chaotic atmosphere marked by shattering metal and glass. Emergency responders, including tugboat operators, police, and nearby workers, rushed to assist the passengers and crew who were struggling in the river.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno reported at a press conference that "We have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi." Though 32 individuals were transported to local hospitals for evaluation, none suffered critical injuries. The boat began listing shortly after the collision, ultimately flipping over while emergency personnel were still aiding those aboard.
Witness Devon Flanagan, who was working nearby at the Port of New Orleans, described the scene as "chaos," noting the chaotic efforts from various ships and crews to aid those still in the water. The cause of the incident is still being investigated; Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham indicated that the tanker appeared to have suffered "some type of loss of steering." The National Transportation Safety Board is set to investigate further, although their initial deployment was delayed due to grounding of flights nationwide over communications issues at regional air traffic control centers.
Passengers who were not injured were brought to a nearby auditorium. Cruise officials conducted a roll call to ensure that everyone was accounted for, leading to the discovery that several passengers had lost personal items, such as IDs and car keys, during the crisis. Most of those affected were from out of town, and Mayor Moreno noted that they needed assistance with phones, food, hotel accommodations, and transportation to contact their families.
The American Heritage, a five-story river cruise ship built in 2015, operates under American Cruise Lines and is designed to accommodate up to 150 passengers. The vessel had just concluded an eight-day cruise along the Mississippi River before it was scheduled to dock in New Orleans. The 520-foot-long ship was registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
Experts suggested that the incident might have resulted from a "catastrophic system failure" of the tanker, coupled with unfortunate timing that led to the collision as passengers were disembarking. Martin Davies, a maritime law expert at Tulane University, explained that for an upbound vessel to encounter such a malfunction indicates a serious underlying issue. He noted that tankers usually have local pilots for navigation, especially after successfully maneuvering challenging turns in the river.
The tanker involved in the collision is owned by Nave Shipping SA, a company registered in Monrovia, Liberia, which is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation—one of the largest military and commercial shipbuilding entities globally. The tanker specializes in transporting large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, commonly used in road construction and roofing.
