A tanker lost control and crashed into a docked river cruise ship in New Orleans on Friday, November 13, tipping the five-deck paddlewheeler onto its side in the Mississippi River. All 129 passengers are accounted for. Thirty-two people were taken to hospital, none of them with critical injuries. No one was killed.
The tanker, the Atlantic Asphalt, struck the American Heritage at about 12:30 p.m. local time at the Port of New Orleans, near the Crescent City Connection bridge. The cruise ship had docked about two hours earlier to begin letting passengers off at the end of an eight-day cruise through Louisiana and Mississippi.
What happened when the tanker hit the cruise ship
The Atlantic Asphalt is a 160-metre tanker, about 520 feet long, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. It was bound for New Orleans and specialises in carrying large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, the semi-solid substance used in road construction and roofing.
According to the Port of New Orleans, the tanker lost control before the collision. A port official said its engine may have lost power, making it impossible to steer. US Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham said the exact reason the tanker lost steering was still unknown. The cause is under investigation, and it is not yet known whether the tanker was carrying cargo.
Video from the scene showed the much larger tanker approaching the docked cruise ship at what looked like a relatively slow speed. Then metal and glass crashed and crunched as the two vessels collided. The American Heritage began taking on water and tipping over. Mayor Helena Moreno said it ‘toppled over and flipped.’ Passengers gripped the railings as the boat rolled onto its side, and some went into the river.
The rescue on the Mississippi
The emergency response was massive. Passengers were pulled from the river, and crews worked to get everyone off the tipping boat. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry called it a ‘miracle on the Mississippi.’ By Friday evening, every passenger and crew member was accounted for. There were zero people unaccounted for, and nobody on the tanker was injured.
Thirty-two people were taken to local hospitals, none with critical injuries. Two harbour police officers who had been hospitalised were released on Friday evening. Others were treated at the scene for bumps and bruises.
The numbers tell the scale of it. About 129 passengers were aboard, along with the crew — around 180 people in total. The American Heritage is a five-deck paddlewheeler built in 2015, operated by American Cruise Lines, and last renovated in 2022.
Footage from local television showed the scale of the damage. The American Heritage was left lying on its side in the river, partly submerged, with its upper decks out of the water and its hull below the surface. The tanker, far larger than the paddlewheeler, stayed afloat. By Friday evening the river around the scene was full of emergency boats, and the injured were still being taken to hospital. Emergency crews were on the scene quickly, and the evacuation went on for hours.
What happens next
The National Transportation Safety Board is launching an investigation, with investigators expected on the scene on Saturday morning. They will try to piece together exactly what happened — why the tanker lost steering, whether it lost power, and whether anything could have prevented the collision.
American Cruise Lines confirmed that its riverboat was involved in the collision and said it worked with local authorities to evacuate everyone from the vessel. The company has not said what will happen to the American Heritage itself, which was left partly submerged and lying on its side in the river.
The bottom line
A tanker lost control on the Mississippi and hit a docked cruise ship carrying 129 passengers. The ship capsized. Thirty-two people went to hospital, none critically hurt, and everyone was accounted for. It could have been far worse, and the investigation starting Saturday will have to explain why a 520-foot tanker could not steer away from a docked paddlewheeler in broad daylight.