All aboard survive New Orleans ship collision; 32 taken to hospital

The tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the American Heritage, a river cruise ship docked near the Port of New Orleans, at about 12.30pm local time on Friday 13 November. The cruise ship took on water and rolled on to its side, sending people into the Mississippi.

The port said about 129 passengers, as well as crew members, had been aboard. Moreno estimated that the total was about 180. All passengers and crew survived; the mayor called it “a miracle on the Mississippi”.

Coast Guard crews, police, firefighters and nearby vessels helped with the rescue. Harbour police chief Melanie Montroll said the first 87 passengers got off while the ship was still afloat. The Guardian reported that two harbour police officers who went into the water to help were among the 32 treated in hospital.

Later that afternoon, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that nobody had been killed and 32 people were in hospital. Those figures were consistent with officials’ reports. He thanked the Coast Guard, other first responders and Louisiana governor Jeff Landry.

The Coast Guard closed a stretch of the Mississippi to vessel traffic during the rescue. Captain Melanie Burnham, its New Orleans commander, said the tanker appeared to have lost steering, but the exact cause of the collision was not known. The US National Transportation Safety Board said it would join the investigation.