Passengers scrambled from a sinking river cruise ship and rescuers pulled survivors from the Mississippi River after a tanker struck the docked American Heritage in New Orleans on Friday, overturning the vessel and leaving much of it underwater.
All passengers and crew aboard both vessels were accounted for by late afternoon. Thirty-two cruise passengers were hospitalized with noncritical injuries, and no deaths were reported. Two Harbor Police officers were also hospitalized during the rescue and were in good condition.
The Atlantic Asphalt struck the American Heritage around 12:30 p.m. at the Port of New Orleans, where the riverboat had docked approximately two hours earlier for passengers to disembark. About 129 passengers, along with crew members, were aboard the American Cruise Lines vessel when the tanker hit.
The impact set off an evacuation that became increasingly dangerous as the riverboat took on water. Passengers were making their way off the damaged ship when it rolled onto its side, throwing people into the river and leaving others trying to escape above the waterline.
Along the dock, firefighters lowered ladders toward survivors. Harbor Police officers entered the river, and crews aboard nearby private vessels joined the effort to recover passengers. People in life jackets could be seen in the water beside the overturned ship as rescue boats approached.
New Orleans police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and the U.S. Coast Guard responded alongside port officers. Survivors were taken into the Port of New Orleans Administration Building for medical assessment and assistance.
For several hours, emergency crews worked to reach passengers while authorities reconciled the number rescued with those aboard. By Friday afternoon, Mayor Helena Moreno announced that everyone had been located and that none of the hospitalized cruise passengers had critical injuries.
The Atlantic Asphalt, an approximately 525-foot asphalt tanker, is nearly twice the length of the 266-foot American Heritage. The tanker sails under the Marshall Islands flag, with public records identifying ownership connections to Chinese and Liberian companies.
The American Heritage is a paddlewheel river cruise vessel with capacity for up to 150 guests. Port officials identified approximately 129 passengers aboard Friday, a figure that did not include the crew.
What caused the much larger tanker to strike the stationary passenger ship remained unresolved Friday evening. Moreno described an apparent loss of steering or control aboard the Atlantic Asphalt, but investigators had not established whether a mechanical failure or another factor caused the collision.
The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. An NTSB team was expected in New Orleans on Saturday morning. No finding of responsibility had been announced.
The wreck also interrupted movement through the busy New Orleans waterfront. The Coast Guard closed a three-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between mile markers 93 and 96 while responders worked around the damaged vessel. Cross-river ferry service was suspended.
American Cruise Lines confirmed that its passengers and crew had been evacuated and that the company was coordinating with federal and local authorities.
By Friday evening, the American Heritage lay partially submerged beside the dock, with no final damage assessment or salvage timetable announced. Authorities were turning their attention to the investigation and reopening the waterway after a rescue operation that accounted for everyone aboard both ships.