Large emergency response under way to rescue people from the water, with overnight cruise ship on its side
New Orleans river collision – latest updates
A tanker collided with a river cruise ship docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday afternoon, prompting an emergency effort to rescue people from the water, according to officials.
The Atlantic Asphalt tanker collided with American Cruise Lines’ American Heritage at about 12.30pm, said Kimberly Curth, the Port of New Orleans press secretary, in a statement.
The American Heritage had about 129 passengers – in addition to crew members – onboard when it was hit, according to Curth. About two hours before that, the American Heritage had docked at the port to begin passenger disembarkation, Curth said.
A statement from the office of the New Orleans mayor, Helena Moreno, on Friday afternoon said that “multiple individuals have been rescued”.
An emergency response source said that there were efforts under way – including by New Orleans firefighters – to rescue multiple people from the water.
“Public safety agencies are coordinating response efforts, with the immediate priority being the safety and rescue of those involved,” the statement from Moreno’s office said.
Officials did not immediately provide details about the circumstances of the crash. The emergency response source said it was possible the tanker had lost power before striking the American Heritage, but that had not been confirmed.
The website marinetraffic.com showed the Atlantic Asphalt’s path was uneventful as it went around the Mississippi River bend near New Orleans’ Algiers Point neighborhood. It had just made it past the Crescent City Connection bridge linking New Orleans’ central business district and the Algiers section when it began drifting to its starboard – or right – side.
Video showed it hit the side of the American Heritage, which slowly rolled toward where it was struck. One witness, Jamie Holford, told local NBC News affiliate WDSU that it took 15 minutes “from impact to where it rolled over”.
“Surreal – that’s what that was,” Holford said.
Maritime law expert Martin J Davies of New Orleans’ Tulane University told local Fox affiliate WVUE that the Atlantic Asphalt was lucky to have not hit the Crescent City Connection, which is estimated to carry about 160,000 cars daily.
“This is obviously a really bad, incident,” Davies said. “But it could also have struck the bridge, which it didn’t.”
A video from WDSU showed crew members of a tugboat working to pull people in lifejackets or holding on to flotation rings out of the river.
Video from WVUE showed the American Heritage slowly rolling on to its side with the Atlantic Asphalt nearby. One image on social media showed people climbing on the side of the cruise boat – specifically, on stateroom balconies – after it was struck, with chairs and tables strewn about.
People who had gotten off the American Heritage after it was struck were being brought inside the New Orleans port’s administration building.
The operator of New Orleans’ University Medical Center, LCMC, reported on Friday that there were 24 patients admitted to the hospital from the crash. The local Acadian Ambulance service took eight people from there to the hospital to be treated for injuries, the details of which were not immediately available, agency spokesperson Caitlin Russo said.
Rescue-related activity on the river had significantly scaled back later on Friday afternoon in the hours after the crash.
Beside New Orleans firefighters and port and city police, the US Coast Guard and local emergency medical services personnel were at the scene conducting rescue and response operations, Curth’s statement said.
A statement from the US Coast Guard said the river “is closed to all vessel traffic between mile markers 93 and 96”, encompassing the area where Friday’s crash occurred. That is so to assist responders as they “assess the situation and conduct response operations”, the statement said.
A statement from American Cruise Lines on Friday said “guests and crew were evacuated” from the American Heritage but did not provide numbers. “We are deeply concerned for everyone involved,” the cruise operator’s statement added.
The American Heritage, a 300ft paddle-wheel ship, was built in 2015 and previously sailed as the Queen of the Mississippi. It has more than 80 staterooms and operates cruises on the Mississippi River, including ones which depart from New Orleans.
The Atlantic Asphalt is a oil tanker built in 2017 measuring approximately 160 meters in length and has a deadweight of 17,764 metric tons. It flies the flag of the Marshall Islands and is owned and commercially operated by Nave Shipping SA, a company registered in Liberia. Its maintenance, technical and safety operations are overseen by Singapore-based Thome Ship Management, according to online records.
The vessel, which had a next recorded destination for Singapore, does not appear on the international sanctions lists checked by maritime tracking services, including Magic Port.
However, it was previously fined C$7,800 by Canadian authorities for a violation of the Canada Shipping Act and related vessel pollution regulations. The penalty, recorded on 11 August 2020, stemmed from an officer failing to properly carry out their duties while supervising a transfer operation aboard the oil tanker, according to the Canadian government.
Officials said they would be holding a news conference at 3pm CT to provide more updates. Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry, on Friday afternoon said he was headed to New Orleans.
Maya Yang contributed reporting
