Tanker crashes into docked cruise ship on Mississippi River; all aboard survive
The tanker lost steering and struck the American Heritage, which flipped as rescuers pulled people from the river.
A tanker that apparently lost steering slammed into the docked American Heritage river cruise boat in New Orleans on Friday. The boat, carrying 180 people according to one report and 197 passengers and crew according to another, began listing within minutes and flipped while emergency workers were still getting people off. Tugboat crews, nearby workers and police pulled dozens from the Mississippi River. New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said zero people were unaccounted for. Thirty-two people were taken to hospitals, and none had critical injuries. Eight remained hospitalized on Saturday. Many passengers lost IDs and car keys, and most were from out of town. The National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate but was initially unable to reach New Orleans because of the nationwide flight grounding. The Port of New Orleans sued to gain control of the Atlantic Asphalt tanker, which is owned by a subsidiary of a Chinese company. A judge issued a warrant giving federal officials control of the ship for now. The lawsuit said the tanker caused at least $1 million in damage to the port's terminal. The cruise ship remains on its side, and it could take weeks to move it.
By the numbers
- 32people taken to hospitals, none with critical injuries
- $1 millionminimum damage the port says the tanker caused to its terminal
- 16,000 gallonsfuel to be removed from the cruise ship
Key points
- Cause of the steering loss is still unknown, according to the Coast Guard
- The first step is removing about 16,000 gallons of fuel from the cruise ship
- The cruise ship was built in 2015 and operated by American Cruise Lines
What’s next: Federal investigators will look into the crash, and the cruise ship could take weeks to be moved from its position against the terminal.
Read the original reporting (4)
- BBC World'Miracle on Mississippi' - All passengers rescued after New Orleans cruise ship collisionbbc.co.uk
- CNBCAll passengers and crew on New Orleans cruise ship survive crash with tanker on Mississippi Rivercnbc.com
- Washington TimesNew Orleans port sues to get control of tanker that crashed into cruise ship on Mississippi Riverwashingtontimes.com
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Summarized with AI from the sources above and reviewed before publishing.
