New Orleans Port Sues to Secure Tanker After Collision Capsizes Cruise Ship on Mississippi

The first warning on the American Heritage was the sound of a horn. Passenger Joe Knab told WDSU-TV that the tanker blasted it several times as the vessel drifted toward the docked river cruise ship in New Orleans on Friday. Then came the impact, which he described as hard, and the cruise ship began to lean almost at once.

The crew gathered passengers on the third deck, had them put on life vests, and began moving them toward the exit. Before everyone could get off, the boat suddenly rolled. Knab and about 100 other passengers and crew went into the muddy Mississippi, where the water was 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Tugboat operators, captains from other cruise ships, nearby workers, police and other rescuers rushed in. Knab thinks he was in the water about 15 minutes. He told the station he kept bobbing under and that the water did not taste good, and he credited his 20 years in the Navy. "They taught us not to drown," he said.

All 197 passengers and crew on the American Heritage survived, as did the crew of the tanker. Officials said 32 people were taken to hospitals, among them two police officers who were thrown into the river when the boat rolled. None of the injuries were critical, and eight people were still hospitalized Saturday. New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said the decision to put vests on passengers while they waited to leave the boat likely saved a number of lives. Whether the water is 10 feet or 200 feet deep, she said, having people in vests who could float upriver while rescuers retrieved them was the best factor in the outcome.

The American Heritage had been finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations. Knab, still in muddy jeans and wearing a shirt from the Hilton where passengers gathered, had lost the rest of his belongings to the river, though his cellphone somehow still worked. He hoped to fly home to Wichita, Kansas, but was unsure how Friday's nationwide ground stop would affect his plans.

Within hours of the crash, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans sued to make sure federal investigators could take control of the tanker, the Atlantic Asphalt. The suit says the ship caused at least $1 million in damage to the port's terminal. A judge issued a warrant Friday giving federal officials control of the vessel for now.

The Atlantic Asphalt is 520 feet long and sails under a Marshall Islands flag, with New Orleans as its final destination, according to MarineTraffic. It is owned by Nave Shipping SA, registered in Monrovia, Liberia, according to the International Maritime Organization, and Nave is a defendant in the suit. MarineTraffic lists Nave as a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, a sprawling state-owned Chinese conglomerate. That company did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The tanker specializes in hauling large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, the semi-solid material used in road construction and roofing.

The cause remains unknown. Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham said the tanker appeared to lose steering, but no more than that has been established. The tanker has been towed away. The cruise ship still lies on its side against a terminal, and Burnham said moving it could take weeks. The first task is removing the 16,000 gallons of fuel aboard safely. River traffic has been limited, though she expects boats to be able to move upstream and downstream soon.

The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the tanker's voyage data recorder, the maritime counterpart of an aircraft flight data recorder, which captures information such as speed and audio from the bridge. Board member John DeLeeuw said a 16-member team will spend a week in New Orleans. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, and the final report in 18 to 24 months.