CSPNewsMorning bulletinAround the World, 6 of 6

Settings

Language

EnglishTürkçe

Theme

Text size

Default, 17px
Reading rulerHighlights the line you are on
SpotlightScreen, music, people and odd news at the end of each bulletin.
Evidence marks and more

Around the World

Everyone on board survives after a tanker hits and capsizes a docked river cruise boat on the Mississippi in New Orleans

Developing

What happened
The tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the paddle-wheel cruise boat American Heritage at the Port of New Orleans on Friday; all 129 passengers and the crew were accounted for.
Why it matters
Mayor Helena Moreno called it “a miracle on the Mississippi”: 32 people were treated in hospital, none critically injured, and the tanker narrowly missed a major bridge.
What’s next
Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry, said he would open an investigation; the Coast Guard pointed to a possible loss of steering on the tanker.

How this story developed

  1. 23:49First report
  2. 00:312nd source
  3. 00:31Confirmed
  4. 00:49+2 outlets in 57 min
  1. 23:49First reportSouth China Morning Post
  2. 00:312nd sourceDW World
  3. 00:31ConfirmedWas: Single source
  4. 00:49Latest+2 outlets in 57 minThe Guardian World and Al Jazeera English
Full story

The collision

The Atlantic Asphalt, an oil tanker, collided with American Cruise Lines’ American Heritage on the Mississippi River in New Orleans at about 12:30pm on Friday, the port’s press secretary, Kimberly Curth, said in a statement quoted by the Guardian. The cruise boat had docked about two hours earlier to let its roughly 129 passengers off.

Video showed the much larger tanker drifting to its right after passing the Crescent City Connection bridge and striking the side of the American Heritage, which slowly rolled on to its side. Passengers climbed on to balcony railings to avoid sliding into the river, the Guardian said.

“Surreal, that’s what that was. Fifteen minutes from impact to where it rolled over.”

Jamie Holford, a witness, to WDSU, Al Jazeera English(translated)

A rescue on the river

Tugboat crews, port workers, police and firefighters pulled people in life jackets from water at 19C (66F), Al Jazeera reported. Mayor Helena Moreno later said all passengers and crew were accounted for, calling it “truly a miracle on the Mississippi”. At least 180 people were rescued in all, DW and the South China Morning Post reported.

Thirty-two people were treated in hospital, among them two harbour police officers who went into the water, the Guardian said. DW reported that none of them had critical injuries. The Coast Guard closed the river to traffic between mile markers 93 and 96.

What went wrong

Captain Melanie Burnham, the Coast Guard commander in New Orleans, said there “seems to be some type of a loss of steering” on the tanker. Governor Jeff Landry said he would launch an investigation so that it would not happen again. Moreno said the ship had narrowly missed the bridge, which carries about 160,000 vehicles a day.

The 300ft American Heritage was built in 2015 and was finishing an eight-day cruise in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Atlantic Asphalt, a 160-metre tanker built in 2017, flies the flag of the Marshall Islands and is owned by Nave Shipping SA, a company registered in Liberia, the Guardian reported.