On a Friday afternoon beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge in New Orleans, a loaded tanker drifted off its course and struck a paddlewheel riverboat tied up at the Thalia Street Terminal, leaving it capsized and half-submerged while nearly two hundred people were pulled to safety. Within hours the Port of New Orleans turned from rescue to reckoning, asking a federal court to hold the ship and the companies that run it answerable for the damage to its terminal. The case is an old story in new clothes: a city's shared infrastructure meets a vessel that could not be stopped, and the law no
Port of New Orleans Sues Tanker Owners After Atlantic Asphalt Strikes and Sinks Riverboat
All 192 passengers aboard the American Heritage were rescued, and 32 required hospital treatment.
The tanker appeared to lose control beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge
Mark
Start with the basics. Why does the Port sue within hours of the crash?
Mimi
The tanker is the asset. The suit asks marshals to seize and hold the Atlantic Asphalt, and it claims a maritime lien for cleanup, repair and salvage costs. Filing fast puts the Port in line for those costs.
Luke
Worth saying that's the Port's claim. Nothing here shows a court has found negligence.
Mark
What does the suit say happened?
Mimi
That the tanker appeared to lose control under the Crescent City Connection bridge, veered right and hit the docked American Heritage, which capsized and partly sank.
Luke
Note the wording, "appeared to lose control." The cause isn't established in this reporting. The suit alleges negligence, even gross negligence, but the investigation is open.
Mark
And the people aboard?
Mimi
192 passengers, all rescued, 32 hospitalized for treatment. That's the part that could have gone much worse.
Mark
Why name Nave Shipping and Thome separately?
Mimi
Nave is described as owner, ship manager and commercial manager. Thome is the ISM manager, responsible for implementing the safety management code aboard.
Luke
Those descriptions come from the suit, and the Nave one cites publicly available information. Also, the suit leaves room for other unidentified parties.
Mark
Is $1 million the real number?
Luke
No. It's an estimate of physical damage so far, and the suit itself says more damages are anticipated. The final figure is unknown.
The Pulse
- A 525-foot tanker lost its path under a major bridge and slammed into a docked riverboat carrying 192 people.
- The American Heritage capsized and partly sank, and 32 passengers needed hospital care before the evening was out.
- The Port of New Orleans moved to federal court within hours, demanding at least $1 million for damage to the Thalia Street Terminal.
- A federal arrest warrant directs marshals to seize the Atlantic Asphalt, putting the ship itself under legal restraint.
- The damage is still being measured, and the Port expects the final bill to climb well past its opening figure.
On a Friday afternoon beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge in New Orleans, a loaded tanker drifted off its course and struck a paddlewheel riverboat tied up at the Thalia Street Terminal, leaving it capsized and half-submerged while nearly two hundred people were pulled to safety. Within hours the Port of New Orleans turned from rescue to reckoning, asking a federal court to hold the ship and the companies that run it answerable for the damage to its terminal. The case is an old story in new clothes: a city's shared infrastructure meets a vessel that could not be stopped, and the law now begins the slow work of deciding who must bear the cost.
On Friday afternoon, the Atlantic Asphalt, a 525-foot tanker, passed beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge in New Orleans and appeared to lose control. According to court documents, it veered right and struck the American Heritage, a paddlewheel cruise boat docked at the Thalia Street Terminal. The riverboat capsized and partially sank. All 192 passengers aboard were rescued, though 32 needed hospital treatment.
By that evening, the Port of New Orleans had gone to federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, seeking at least $1 million. The suit names the tanker itself along with two companies: Nave Shipping SA, a Liberian corporation described as the ship's registered owner and manager, and Thome Ship Management, a Singapore firm alleged to oversee the vessel's safety compliance. The complaint describes the crash as an allision, a moving ship striking one that is moored, and blames the tanker's negligence and carelessness.
The Port's core grievance is the damage to its terminal, which it says is significant, still under investigation, and likely to exceed the initial figure. It has already paid, and will keep paying, for cleanup, surveys, repairs and salvage, and it claims those costs create a maritime lien against the vessel. An arrest warrant has been issued, allowing federal marshals to seize the Atlantic Asphalt. The case is before U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter, and the next steps will be the warrant's enforcement and the named companies' responses.
On Friday afternoon, a 525-foot tanker called the Atlantic Asphalt appeared to lose control as it passed beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge in New Orleans. According to court documents, it veered to the right and struck the American Heritage, a paddlewheel cruise ship docked at the Thalia Street Terminal. The riverboat capsized and partially sank.
There were 192 passengers aboard. Authorities said all of them were rescued safely, though 32 needed treatment at hospitals.
By Friday evening, the Port of New Orleans had gone to court. The Board of Commissioners of the Port filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Louisiana seeking at least $1 million. It names three defendants: the vessel itself, the Atlantic Asphalt MV; Nave Shipping SA; and Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd.
The suit describes Nave Shipping as a corporation registered in Liberia. Citing publicly available information, it says Nave is the registered owner, ship manager and commercial manager of the tanker. Thome is described as a private limited company based in Singapore. The suit says it serves as the tanker's ISM manager, responsible for putting the International Safety Management code into effect aboard the ship.
An arrest warrant was issued along with the complaint. It directs federal marshals to seize and hold the Atlantic Asphalt.
The Port's central claim is physical damage to the Thalia Street Terminal. In the lawsuit's words, the damage was significant, its full extent remains under investigation, and it is currently estimated to exceed $1 million, with additional substantial direct, indirect and consequential damages anticipated. The Port says it has incurred, and will keep incurring, costs for cleanup, surveys, repair, replacement and salvage. It argues those costs give rise to a maritime lien against the tanker.
The complaint blames the "negligence, gross negligence, fault or carelessness" of the Atlantic Asphalt. It calls the event an allision, the term for a moving vessel striking one that is securely moored. It also asserts that the ship, Nave and Thome are solidarily liable for all of the Board's damages. That language extends to potentially other parties not yet identified who bear responsibility for the tanker's operation, condition, crewing and seaworthiness.
The Port is represented by Christopher Hannan, Sara Kuebel and Abigail Weiland of the New Orleans firm Jones Walker. Court records show the case initially assigned to Magistrate Karen Wells Roby and U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter, the chief judge at the federal courthouse in New Orleans.
What to watch: the $1 million figure is described as a floor, not a final tally, and the Port expects it to grow as the investigation into the terminal damage continues. The arrest warrant for the tanker and any responses from the named owners and managers are the next developments to follow.
Notable Quotes
Physical damage is currently estimated to exceed $1 million with additional substantial direct, indirect and consequential damages anticipated.— Port of New Orleans lawsuit
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