A tanker struck a docked passenger riverboat on the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans on Friday, 13 November, causing the boat to flip onto its side against the dock. Thirty-two people were taken to hospital, none of them in critical condition, and officials said no one was unaccounted for, an outcome New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno described as a "miracle".
The collision happened at about 12:30 p.m. local time (21:30 in Istanbul). The tanker Atlantic Asphalt hit the American Heritage, a paddlewheel riverboat operated by American Cruise Lines, which was moored in the port at the time. The port and the operator said close to 130 passengers were on board, in addition to the crew.
Boat overturned, passengers in the water
According to the mayor and local reports, the riverboat began to sink after the impact and then toppled over, leaving people in life jackets in the water. Rescue teams including the US Coast Guard took part in the response, and all passengers and crew were later accounted for.
American Cruise Lines said guests and crew had been evacuated and that it was working closely with the Coast Guard and local authorities.
The cause has not been confirmed. Both the mayor and a Coast Guard captain said the tanker appeared to have suffered some kind of loss of steering. Investigations into how the accident happened are under way.
River closed, Trump thanks Coast Guard
The Coast Guard closed the Mississippi to all vessel traffic between mile markers 93 and 96 around the port after the accident.
US President Donald Trump thanked the Coast Guard for its rescue work in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday evening, noting that nobody had been killed in what he called a major collision.
Sources
- Tanker strikes paddlewheel cruise ship in New Orleans; 32 injured, no passengers missing (WWNO)
- LIVE: ‘Miracle on the Mississippi’ (FOX 8 New Orleans)
- ‘Miracle’: All rescued from capsized New Orleans riverboat in tanker collision (ABC News)
- Trump praises Coast Guard, first responders for rescue efforts after tanker-cruise ship collision in Louisiana (The Tribune / ANI)
Photo: Nutriawood / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
