Tanker Atlantic Asphalt Strikes American Heritage Cruise Ship In New Orleans, Hospitalising 12

NEW ORLEANS — A commercial asphalt tanker smashed into a river cruise vessel carrying 129 passengers on the Mississippi River on Friday, throwing travellers into the water, partially submerging the craft, and sending a dozen people to area hospitals.

Shock rippled through the riverfront. The massive tanker, identified as the Atlantic Asphalt, ploughed directly into the docked paddlewheel boat American Heritage along the New Orleans shoreline. Video recorded at the riverbank showed the sheer scale disparity between the two hulls—the heavy industrial tanker bearing down on the ornate riverboat as splintering timbers and metal gave way.

The collision forced the American Heritage into a sharp, dangerous list. Passengers scrambled toward the high railing. Others leapt or fell into the churning brown water below, bobbing in bright orange life jackets as the vessel took on river water.

"All agencies are responding to rescue efforts," said Lt. Stephanie C. Norwood of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services.

Rescue teams rushed flotation gear to those adrift, pulling survivors from the river currents while triage teams established staging zones along the levee. Paramedics transported 12 injured passengers to regional medical facilities for emergency treatment.

Collision Along the Mississippi Wharf

The American Heritage, operated by American Cruise Lines, was moored when the impact occurred. The collision sheared through deck sections, compromising buoyancy on one side of the craft and leaving the paddlewheeler resting half-drowned against the river pier.

Water rescue flotillas from multiple jurisdictional authorities mobilised within minutes, throwing safety lines and boarding the stricken vessel to extract the remaining passengers and crew trapped on the canted decks.

Maritime safety personnel and emergency services secured the perimeter around the listing vessel by Friday evening, deploying containment booms and surveying the hull integrity of the American Heritage as salvage specialists and federal maritime safety officials launch their formal inquiry into how the tanker struck a moored passenger craft.