On a late-autumn day in New Orleans, the quiet ritual of a docked river cruise was broken when a loaded tanker that had lost its steering drifted into the American Heritage and rolled it onto its side. Every one of its 197 people lived, a fact that owes much to a crew that put life vests on passengers before anyone knew how bad things would become. The harder questions now belong to investigators and lawyers: why a vessel of this size could slip its control, and who bears the cost of a river's worth of damage. Those answers will take far longer to arrive than the rescue did.
New Orleans Port Sues to Seize Tanker After Crash Capsizes River Cruise Ship on Mississippi
Dozens of passengers and crew were thrown into the Mississippi River, and 32 people were taken to hospital, with eight still hospitalized Saturday.
"They taught us not to drown."
Mark
Start with the basics. Why did the port sue within hours?
Mimi
The suit says the tanker did at least $1 million in damage to the terminal. It also led to a warrant Friday that gives federal officials control of the ship for now, so investigators can hold it.
Mark
And the ownership matters here?
Mimi
It's part of the story. Nave Shipping SA, registered in Liberia, owns the tanker and is a defendant. MarineTraffic lists it as a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
Luke
Careful, though. That parent link comes from MarineTraffic, a tracking service, not from the company or a court. And the parent didn't respond to a request for comment.
Mark
What do we actually know about the cause?
Mimi
Very little. The Coast Guard's Capt. Melanie Burnham said the tanker appeared to lose steering. The recorder has been recovered, which should help.
Luke
Right. "Appeared to" is the operative phrase. No cause has been established, and the NTSB's final report is 18 to 24 months away.
Mark
What kept the toll so low?
Mimi
Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll pointed to the life vests. Passengers were wearing them when the boat rolled, and about 100 people went in the river.
Luke
That's her assessment of what likely saved lives, not a measured finding. What's firm is that all 197 survived and 32 were hospitalized.
The Pulse
- A horn sounded again and again as a 520-foot tanker drifted toward a berthed cruise ship with no way to steer it clear.
- The impact tipped the American Heritage over, flinging roughly 100 passengers and crew into the 66-degree Mississippi.
- Tugboats, nearby cruise captains, workers and police raced to haul people from the muddy water while 32 were taken to hospitals.
- The port has sued to hold the Atlantic Asphalt under a federal warrant, while investigators wait on a recovered data recorder and a preliminary report due within 30 days.
- The cruise ship still lies against the terminal, and crews must first pump out 16,000 gallons of fuel before it can be moved over weeks.
On a late-autumn day in New Orleans, the quiet ritual of a docked river cruise was broken when a loaded tanker that had lost its steering drifted into the American Heritage and rolled it onto its side. Every one of its 197 people lived, a fact that owes much to a crew that put life vests on passengers before anyone knew how bad things would become. The harder questions now belong to investigators and lawyers: why a vessel of this size could slip its control, and who bears the cost of a river's worth of damage. Those answers will take far longer to arrive than the rescue did.
The first warning aboard the American Heritage was a horn, sounded several times as the tanker drifted toward the docked cruise boat. Then came a hard impact and a lean that started almost at once. Crew gathered passengers on the third deck, handed out life vests and began moving people off, but the vessel rolled onto its side before they finished. Roughly 100 people went into the muddy river, where the water was 66 degrees. Tugboat operators, captains from other cruise ships, workers and police rushed in to pull them out.
All 197 people on the cruise ship survived, and so did the tanker's crew. Thirty-two people were taken to hospitals, including two police officers who had been thrown into the water. None of the injuries were critical. Passenger Joe Knab, a former Navy veteran, spent about 15 minutes in the river, kept going under and feared he would drown. He credited his training and reached a hotel where passengers were taken, his phone still working and his belongings lost.
Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said the decision to vest passengers while they waited likely saved lives, since people in vests could float while rescuers worked. Hours later, the port sued the tanker's owner, saying the Atlantic Asphalt had caused at least $1 million in terminal damage. A judge granted a warrant giving federal officials control of the ship. The owner, Nave Shipping, is registered in Liberia and is linked to a Chinese state-owned shipbuilding conglomerate, which has not responded to requests for comment.
The cause remains unknown. The Coast Guard says the tanker appeared to lose steering, and its voyage data recorder has been recovered. An NTSB team will spend a week in New Orleans, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days and a final one in up to two years. The cruise ship still lies on its side, and removing 16,000 gallons of fuel comes first before it can be moved, a process that may take weeks.
The first warning aboard the American Heritage was a horn. Passenger Joe Knab told WDSU-TV that the tanker bearing down on the docked river cruise boat sounded it several times as it drifted toward them. Then came the impact, which he described as hard, and the ship began to lean almost at once.
The crew gathered everyone on the third deck, handed out life vests and started working to get people off. Before that could finish, the vessel rolled onto its side. Knab and roughly 100 other passengers and crew went into the muddy Mississippi, where the water was 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 Celsius). Tugboat operators, captains from other cruise ships, nearby workers and police rushed to pull them out.
All 197 people on the cruise ship survived, as did the tanker's crew. 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. The American Heritage had been finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations.
Knab said he was probably in the water about 15 minutes. He still had on the jeans he'd worn aboard, now caked in mud, and a shirt from the Hilton where passengers were taken. The rest of his belongings were in the river, though his phone somehow still worked. He said he kept bobbing under and thought he was drowning, and that the river water doesn't taste good. He credited 20 years in the Navy: "They taught us not to drown." He hoped to fly home to Wichita, Kansas, though Friday's nationwide ground stop complicated that.
New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said the decision to put vests on passengers while they waited to disembark likely saved a number of lives when the boat turned over. 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.
Hours after the crash, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans filed suit against the tanker's owner and others, saying the Atlantic Asphalt caused at least $1 million in damage to its terminal. A judge issued a warrant Friday giving federal officials control of the ship for now, which keeps it available to investigators. The 520-foot (160-meter) tanker, which carries asphalt and bitumen and was bound for New Orleans under a Marshall Islands flag according to MarineTraffic, has since been towed from the site. Its owner, Nave Shipping SA, is registered in Monrovia, Liberia, per the International Maritime Organization, and is a defendant. MarineTraffic lists Nave Shipping as a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, a state-owned conglomerate. The corporation did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The cause remains unknown. Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham said the tanker appeared to lose steering, but nothing more has been established. The tanker's voyage data recorder, the maritime counterpart of an aircraft's flight data recorder, has been recovered; it captures speed and audio from the bridge. NTSB member John DeLeeuw said a 16-member team will spend a week in New Orleans, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days and a final report in 18 to 24 months.
The cruise ship remains on its side against a terminal, and Burnham said moving it could take weeks. The first step is safely removing 16,000 gallons (60,500 liters) of fuel. River traffic has been limited, but she said boats should soon be able to travel both upstream and downstream again.
Notable Quotes
Having those vests, having that population put those vests on and kind of float upriver while we retrieve them was the best factor of success.— New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll
I thought I was drowning because I kept bobbing underneath.— Joe Knab, passenger, to WDSU-TV
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