The Port of New Orleans filed a lawsuit to ensure federal officials can take control of a tanker after it collided with a docked river cruise ship, leaving dozens injured but no critical cases reported Saturday.
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Just hours after a tanker lost steering and slammed into a docked river cruise boat in New Orleans on Friday, the city’s port sued to make sure federal investigators can seize the vessel.
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans said the Atlantic Asphalt tanker caused at least $1 million in damage to its terminal. A judge issued a warrant Friday granting federal officials control of the ship for now.
Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham said Saturday that the tanker had been towed away from the site, but it could take weeks to move the cruise ship, the American Heritage, which remained turned on its side against a terminal in the Mississippi River.
Burnham said the first step is ensuring the safe removal of the vessel’s fuel: 16,000 gallons (60,500 litres). Traffic on the Mississippi River was limited, though Burnham said boats should be able to move upstream and downstream soon.
Officials said all 197 passengers and crew on the American Heritage survived Friday, as did the tanker’s crew. Burnham said 32 people were brought to hospital, including two police officers thrown into the Mississippi River when the boat rolled, and that none of the injuries were critical. She added that eight people remained hospitalized Saturday.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to New Orleans, and Burnham said the exact cause of the crash was not known, though the tanker appeared to lose steering.
During the response, New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said life vests helped improve survival chances while crew and rescuers retrieved people from the water. “Whether it’s 10 feet of water or 200 feet, having those vests, having that population put those vests on and float upriver while we retrieve them — I think was the best factor of success,” Montroll said.
Passenger Joe Knab, who was on the American Heritage, said the first warning he and others had was the tanker blasting its horn before impact. Knab said the collision was hard, the ship began leaning, and when it suddenly rolled, he and about 100 other passengers and crew were sent into the muddy river. “I thought I was drowning because I kept bobbing underneath — and the water doesn’t taste very good,” Knab said.
Knab said he believed he was in the water about 15 minutes, and he credited having a life vest for helping people stay afloat as they waited to get off the boat.
The American Heritage was finishing an eight-day cruise to Mississippi River destinations.
Investigators were also looking at the tanker’s ownership and registration details. The Atlantic Asphalt is described as a 520-foot-long (160-metre-long) vessel, sailing under a Marshall Islands flag. The ship is owned by Nave Shipping SA, registered in Monrovia, Liberia, and is described as a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The evidence states that China State Shipbuilding Corp. did not respond to a request for comment.
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