The Port of New Orleans has sued the owner of the Atlantic Asphalt tanker after it struck the docked American Heritage cruise ship on the Mississippi River, seeking federal control of the vessel.
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans filed a lawsuit Friday against the owner of the Atlantic Asphalt tanker after it struck the docked American Heritage river cruise paddleboat on the Mississippi River on Nov. 13, 2026. A judge issued a warrant giving federal officials control of the ship.
The tanker appeared to lose steering, but the exact cause of the crash is not known, Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham told reporters Saturday. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to New Orleans.
All 197 passengers and crew on the American Heritage cruise ship survived, as did the crew on the tanker. Officials said 32 people were brought to the hospital, including two police officers thrown into the Mississippi River when the boat rolled. None of the injuries were critical and eight remained hospitalized Saturday.
The tanker has been towed away from the site, but it could take weeks to move the cruise ship, which remains turned on its side against a terminal in the Mississippi River, Burnham said. The first step is to make sure the 16,000 gallons (60,500 liters) of fuel on the boat are removed safely, she said. Traffic has been limited on the Mississippi River, but Burnham said boats should be able to move both upstream and downstream soon.
The lawsuit said the Atlantic Asphalt tanker caused at least $1 million in damage to its terminal. The tanker is a 520-foot-long (160-meter-long) vessel sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands. The ship is owned by a company called Nave Shipping SA, which is registered in Monrovia, Liberia, according to the International Maritime Organization and was one of the defendants in the lawsuit filed Friday. Nave Shipping is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, a sprawling Chinese state-owned conglomerate, according to the live shipping tracker MarineTraffic. China State Shipbuilding Corp. didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.
The first warning people on board the American Heritage had was the tanker blasting its horn several times as it floated toward the cruise ship, passenger Joe Knab told WDSU-TV. The hit was hard, and the ship immediately started leaning. The crew gathered everyone on the third deck to put on life vests and start getting them off the boat, but it suddenly rolled and sent Knab and about 100 other passengers and crew into the muddy Mississippi River, where the water was 66-degree Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius).
Putting the life vests on the passengers as they waited to get off the boat likely saved a number of lives when the boat suddenly turned into the water, New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said. “Whether it’s 10 feet of water or 200 feet, having those vests, having that population put those vests on and kind of float upriver while we retrieve them — I think was the best factor of success,” Montroll said.
The American Heritage was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations. The tanker involved in the crash specializes in carrying large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, a semi-solid substance that is often used for road construction and roofing, according to MarineTraffic.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
The day's checked news, by email
One short email a day with the top stories. Free, and you can unsubscribe in one click.
Or follow for the latest news:
No comments yet. Start the discussion.
Authorities in Panama are investigating a bombing attack on the home of investigative journalist Rolando Rodríguez. No one was injured.
Pte. William Douglas Dal Bianco died Friday from injuries sustained in the Oct. 17 fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, the Canadian Armed Forces said Saturday.
