All Survive as Asphalt Tanker Capsizes Cruise Ship on Mississippi

Every one of the roughly 129 passengers and crew aboard the riverboat American Heritage survived Friday when the 160-meter asphalt tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck and capsized the docked paddle-wheeler on the Lower Mississippi River in New Orleans. Thirty-two people went to local hospitals — 30 passengers and two police officers — but none suffered critical injuries, according to city officials.

"We have zero people unaccounted for, which truly is a miracle on the Mississippi," New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said at a news conference.

The collision occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. local time, just below the Crescent City Connection bridge, as the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker traveled upbound, the Port of New Orleans said. Video footage shows the tanker hitting the docked vessel, which took on water, listed heavily and eventually overturned alongside the dock. Other footage captured people in the river wearing life jackets as tugboat operators, nearby vessel crews, police and emergency responders pulled them to safety.

Why were passengers still aboard?

The American Heritage had docked outside the Port of New Orleans Administration Building roughly two hours earlier to begin disembarking passengers after an eight-day Mississippi River cruise. Moreno said passengers began evacuating after the initial impact, but the vessel overturned before everyone could get off, forcing rescuers to pull people from the water.

The U.S.-flagged American Heritage is an 81-meter paddlewheel cruise ship built in 2015 with accommodations for up to 150 passengers, according to ship-tracking data. The much larger Atlantic Asphalt is an asphalt and bitumen tanker sailing under the Marshall Islands flag.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry called the outcome "nothing short of a miracle."

"While we will continue to work through the details of this incident, one thing is clear: our first responders on the national, state, and local level saved countless lives today, and for that I and all of our country are thankful!" Landry said.

American Cruise Lines said Friday it was arranging hotel accommodations and assistance for everyone who had been aboard the ship. "We are getting everyone who was aboard the ship settled into hotels and making sure they have everything they need," the company said. The operator thanked the U.S. Coast Guard, its crew and local first responders, and said it remained in close contact with the Coast Guard, New Orleans Police and other agencies.

What caused the collision?

The cause remains under investigation, although the Coast Guard said the tanker may have suffered a mechanical failure. Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham said the tanker appeared to have experienced "some type of loss of steering," but emphasized that the exact cause had not been determined.

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation and is sending a team to New Orleans, with investigators expected to arrive Saturday morning. The probe will focus on what drove the tanker into the docked passenger vessel on the busy Lower Mississippi River, where deep-draft oceangoing ships regularly operate in close proximity to river cruise vessels, tugs and barges.

What does the river closure mean for shipping?

The Coast Guard closed the Mississippi River to vessel traffic between mile markers 93 and 96 while emergency operations continued, temporarily halting navigation along one of the nation's busiest commercial waterways. Officials said they were evaluating when the waterway could safely reopen, a decision that will determine how quickly grain, petrochemical and general cargo flows through the Port of New Orleans return to normal.

AIS data shows the Atlantic Asphalt called at Amuay, Venezuela, in October before arriving in Paulsboro, New Jersey. The tanker departed Paulsboro on October 26 and arrived in New Orleans on November 11, two days before the collision.

The NTSB's findings on the suspected steering failure, and the timing of the river's reopening, will shape both the safety record and the near-term traffic picture on a corridor that handles a large share of U.S. export tonnage.