Martha Udom
A tanker collided with a docked river cruise ship on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday, causing the passenger vessel to take on water and capsize. All passengers and crew members were eventually accounted for, although 32 people were taken to hospitals with non-critical injuries.
The Port of New Orleans said 197 people affected by the incident had been accounted for. New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said 32 people were hospitalised, including 30 passengers and two first responders, while others received treatment at the scene for minor injuries.
“At this moment, the information that we have, we have zero people unaccounted for,” Moreno said.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry described the outcome as a “miracle on the Mississippi”.
The Port of New Orleans said the tanker, Atlantic Asphalt, struck the American Cruise Lines paddlewheeler, American Heritage, at about 12:30 p.m. local time while the cruise ship was docked.
The collision occurred as passengers were disembarking. The American Heritage began taking on water before rolling onto its side and capsizing, sending several people into the river and triggering a major rescue operation.
The New Orleans Fire Department deployed 23 units and 57 personnel to the scene. At least 14 people were rescued from the water.
Initial reports gave varying figures for the number of people aboard the cruise ship. The Port initially reported that approximately 129 passengers, in addition to crew members, were on board. Later accounts from officials put the number of people affected at 197.
The US Coast Guard said the tanker appeared to have suffered “some type of loss of steering”. Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham said the exact cause of the apparent steering failure remained unknown.
The Coast Guard temporarily closed the Mississippi River to vessel traffic between mile markers 93 and 96 while rescue and response operations continued.
Following the rescue, the Coast Guard said its focus had shifted to reopening the river safely and coordinating salvage operations for the damaged cruise ship.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it would deploy an investigative team, known as a Go Team, to New Orleans to examine the collision.
The team was expected to arrive on Saturday but had to travel by road after a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop on Friday disrupted air travel.
American Cruise Lines confirmed that its riverboat was involved in the collision while docked. The company said it was coordinating with the US Coast Guard and local authorities.
The American Heritage, built in 2015, is a paddlewheel riverboat that operates cruises along the Mississippi River. The Atlantic Asphalt is an approximately 525-foot tanker specialising in the transportation of asphalt and bitumen.
