On a Friday afternoon on the Mississippi at New Orleans, a cargo tanker drifted into a paddlewheel cruise ship resting at its dock, leaving the riverboat tilted and half-submerged and sending dozens to hospital. In the way such accidents always do, a single moment of failure has opened a long human and legal reckoning: the port has turned to the federal courts to hold the vessel and its owners to account, while investigators try to learn whether a loss of steering, a mechanical lapse or a human error set the collision in motion. The outcome that matters most, that more than a hundred passenger
New Orleans Port Sues Tanker Owners After 'Miracle on the Mississippi' Cruise Ship Collision
32 people from the riverboat were hospitalized with non-critical injuries after the collision, and more than 100 passengers were rescued from the river.
A tanker, a loss of steering, and 129 people on a riverboat
Mark
Why did the port file suit on the very day of the collision?
Mimi
The filing was made Friday, the same day as the crash. It names the tanker, its owner Nave Shipping and its manager Thome, and asks that the ship be seized and sold to cover damages.
Mark
What is the port actually claiming?
Mimi
Negligence, gross negligence, fault or carelessness. It also says the vessel and companies failed to use all available means to avoid hitting the riverboat.
Luke
Those are allegations in a complaint, though. Nothing has been proven.
Mimi
Correct. And the cause is still under investigation.
Mark
The Coast Guard did mention steering, didn't it?
Mimi
Capt Melanie Burnham said there seems to be some type of loss of steering.
Luke
"Seems" matters there. It's an early impression, not a conclusion, and it doesn't say who is responsible for a steering failure.
Mark
And the $1m figure?
Luke
It comes from the court documents, and officials say the full extent of the damage is still being assessed. I'd treat it as a floor.
Mimi
The people are the other part. Over 100 were rescued, 32 went to hospital with non-critical injuries, and no one was missing.
Luke
The companies haven't answered the allegations yet. Thome said only that its crew were safe and that it is cooperating. China State Shipbuilding hasn't been heard from.
Il Polso
- A tanker slammed into the American Heritage at dock, leaving the paddlewheel riverboat on its side and partly underwater.
- Thirty-two people were hospitalized with non-critical injuries as more than a hundred passengers were hauled from the Mississippi.
- The Port of New Orleans went to federal court the same day, demanding over $1m and asking that the tanker be seized and sold.
- The lawsuit accuses the tanker's owner and manager of negligence and of failing to use every means to avoid the crash.
- Coast Guard investigators point to a possible loss of steering, and the final cause, and who pays for it, is still unsettled.
On a Friday afternoon on the Mississippi at New Orleans, a cargo tanker drifted into a paddlewheel cruise ship resting at its dock, leaving the riverboat tilted and half-submerged and sending dozens to hospital. In the way such accidents always do, a single moment of failure has opened a long human and legal reckoning: the port has turned to the federal courts to hold the vessel and its owners to account, while investigators try to learn whether a loss of steering, a mechanical lapse or a human error set the collision in motion. The outcome that matters most, that more than a hundred passengers were pulled safely from the river, has already been secured, and the questions of blame and cost now belong to the slower work of evidence.
On Friday afternoon, the cargo tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the paddlewheel cruise ship American Heritage while it was docked on the Mississippi River at New Orleans. The riverboat was left on its side and partly underwater, and within hours the Port of New Orleans had taken the matter to federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The lawsuit names the tanker itself, its owner Nave Shipping SA and its manager Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd. The port says the collision resulted from negligence, gross negligence and carelessness, and that the companies failed to use all available means to avoid it. It puts the damage at more than $1m, a figure officials expect to rise as they assess harm to the port terminal, and it asks that the tanker be seized and sold to pay for cleanup, inspections and repairs.
The human outcome could have been far worse. About 129 passengers were aboard the American Heritage, and more than 100 were pulled from the river, while tugboat crews, police and other rescuers responded quickly. Thirty-two people were taken to hospital with non-critical injuries, and nobody was unaccounted for. Officials called it a "miracle on the Mississippi."
Why the tanker struck the riverboat is still under investigation. A Coast Guard captain described what appears to be a loss of steering, a preliminary observation rather than a conclusion. Nave Shipping, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, has been approached for comment, and Thome said its crew were safe and that it is cooperating fully with authorities. The investigation's findings will likely decide how responsibility and the liability claims that follow are settled.
On Friday afternoon, a cargo tanker called the Atlantic Asphalt struck the paddlewheel cruise ship American Heritage as it sat docked on the Mississippi River at New Orleans. The riverboat was left on its side and partially underwater. Within hours, the Port of New Orleans had gone to federal court.
The port's lawsuit was filed the same day in the Eastern District of Louisiana. It names three defendants: the M/V Atlantic Asphalt itself, its owner Nave Shipping SA, and its management company, Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd. According to court documents, the port holds the tanker at fault for the collision and puts the damage at more than $1m (£756k).
The filing asks the court to go further than a damages award. It requests that the tanker be seized and sold to pay for what the collision caused. It also alleges that the crash "occurred as a result of the negligence, gross negligence, fault or carelessness" of the vessel and the companies running it, and that they failed "to use all available means to avoid the risk" of hitting the riverboat.
The documents say the port terminal "was significantly damaged." Officials are still working out how far that damage extends, so the $1m figure is a starting point rather than a final tally. The port says it is seeking money to cover cleanup, inspections, repairs and other expenses.
The human toll could have been far worse. The port authority said about 129 passengers were aboard the American Heritage, in addition to crew. More than 100 passengers were pulled from the river. Thirty-two people from the boat were taken to hospital with non-critical injuries, and no one was unaccounted for. Officials called the outcome a "miracle on the Mississippi."
Tugboat operators, police and other rescuers rushed to the scene, and officials shut down traffic on the river while the rescue went on. The American Heritage had been finishing an eight-day cruise through destinations in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Why the tanker hit the cruise ship is still under investigation. US Coast Guard Capt Melanie Burnham offered an early indication: "There seems to be some type of a loss of steering." That is a preliminary observation, not a finding.
Nave Shipping is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, which the BBC has contacted for comment. Thome Ship Management has also been contacted. In a statement on Saturday, the firm said the Atlantic Asphalt's crew were safe and accounted for, and that "OSM Thome is fully complying with the local authorities as they carry out the necessary investigations."
What happens next depends largely on the investigation. Whether the steering failure Burnham described is confirmed, and who bears responsibility for it, is likely to shape the liability claims that follow.
Citazioni salienti
There seems to be some type of a loss of steering.— US Coast Guard Capt Melanie Burnham
OSM Thome is fully complying with the local authorities as they carry out the necessary investigations.— Thome Ship Management statement
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