Oil Tanker Capsizes Cruise Ship Carrying 129 Passengers In New Orleans. 32 Taken To Hospitals.
An oil tanker struck and capsized a river cruise ship carrying 129 passengers in New Orleans on Friday, sending people into the Mississippi River and leaving 32 passengers needing hospital treatment. All passengers and crew members have since been accounted for.
The tanker, identified as Atlantic Asphalt, collided with American Cruise Lines’ American Heritage at approximately 12:30 p.m. local time near the Port of New Orleans. The passenger vessel had been docked for about two hours when it was struck.
Videos of the collision showed the much larger tanker hitting the stationary cruise ship, which tilted onto its side and began sinking. Passengers were seen holding onto railings, while others wearing life jackets were spotted in the water as nearby boats rushed to help.
According to an updated NBC News report, everyone aboard the American Heritage has now been accounted for, with 32 passengers transported to local hospitals. The severity of their injuries was not immediately clear.
One passenger described how she struggled to escape as the riverboat overturned.
“After the initial crash, it hit us again and we flipped over and I had to crawl over the railing and people to save myself,” passenger Rhonda Akers told NBC News.
Akers said her husband had been hospitalized with a head injury and that she was waiting to see him.
The collision prompted a major emergency response involving the U.S. Coast Guard, New Orleans police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.
Passengers were evacuated from the vessel and taken ashore, with some directed to the Port of New Orleans Administration Building for assistance.
American Cruise Lines confirmed that all passengers and crew had been evacuated and said it was working closely with investigators.
“We are in close coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities,” the company said in a statement. “Guests and crew were evacuated, and we are deeply concerned for everyone involved.”
The Coast Guard closed a three-mile stretch of the Mississippi River to vessel traffic while responders assessed the damage and conducted emergency operations, according to Coast Guard Lt. Krystal Wolfe.
The accident occurred near the Crescent City Connection bridges, along a busy shipping corridor used by commercial vessels, barges and passenger boats.
The American Heritage is a paddlewheel river cruise vessel built in 2015, with capacity for up to 150 passengers. It was scheduled to begin a seven-night round-trip cruise along the Mississippi River.
The Atlantic Asphalt is an asphalt tanker registered in the Marshall Islands. Public records cited by NBC News identify Chinese and Liberian corporate ownership interests in the vessel.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the collision, a senior White House official told NBC News.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he was aware of the incident and was in contact with local officials and law enforcement. He also said he was traveling to New Orleans.
Investigators were still working to determine what caused the tanker to strike the docked riverboat. Authorities had not announced whether mechanical problems, navigational errors or other factors contributed to the collision.
