A tanker ploughs into a docked riverboat with 129 passengers in New Orleans, two hours after it tied up to let them off
The tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the American Heritage, a five-deck paddlewheel cruise boat, as it sat docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans at about 12.30pm local time on Friday, and the riverboat sank and flipped as passengers were getting off. Mayor Helena Moreno says every passenger is accounted for and 32 are in hospital, none critically, and the Coast Guard says the tanker appears to have lost steering.
Live updates
- Friday evening Central timeLatest
Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham says there seems to have been some kind of loss of steering on the tanker, but the exact cause is not known. The NTSB is sending a go-team on Saturday. Two harbour police officers are also in hospital, in good condition.
- About 6.30am AWST
Mayor Helena Moreno says all passengers are accounted for and 32 are in hospital, none critically. The riverboat sank and flipped as people were getting off; she says the tanker "lost control". The Coast Guard and the NTSB will investigate.
- Late afternoon Friday Central time
More than a dozen people in hospital and rescues still under way; the river is closed between mile markers 93 and 96 and ferries are suspended. The port says injuries and the cause are not yet confirmed.
- 2.30am AWST
The tanker Atlantic Asphalt strikes the docked riverboat American Heritage, with about 129 passengers aboard, at the Port of New Orleans.
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Three things to know
- The American Heritage was not moving. It had docked about two hours earlier so its roughly 129 passengers could disembark.
- Nobody is missing. Thirty-two passengers are in hospital with injuries the mayor says are not critical, and no deaths have been reported.
- The first official explanation points to the tanker's steering: the Coast Guard says there seems to have been a loss of steering, though the exact cause is not yet known. NTSB investigators are due on Saturday, and three miles of the river are closed.
A tanker struck a docked river cruise boat on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday, flipping the passenger vessel and sending people into the water, but every passenger has been accounted for.
The collision happened at about 12.30pm Central time on Friday (2.30am AWST Saturday) at the Port of New Orleans, near the Crescent City Connection bridge. The tanker Atlantic Asphalt hit the American Heritage, a paddlewheel riverboat operated by American Cruise Lines, as it sat at its berth. About 129 passengers were aboard, along with crew.
The riverboat had docked about two hours earlier to begin letting passengers off. Mayor Helena Moreno said the tanker “lost control” and collided with the boat, which began to sink and then flipped while passengers were disembarking.
Who was hurt?
Thirty-two passengers were taken to hospitals, none with critical injuries, Moreno said on Friday evening. She said there were zero people unaccounted for and called it “a miracle on the Mississippi”. Two harbour police officers were also taken to hospital and are in good condition, and no one on the tanker was hurt. No deaths have been reported.
Nearby boats pulled people from the river, many of them wearing life jackets. Passengers were taken to the port’s administration building to be checked and assisted, and Louisiana’s lieutenant governor, Billy Nungesser, said he was working to secure 85 hotel rooms for them.
Why is the river so dangerous here?
November water on the lower Mississippi is cold enough for hypothermia to set in quickly, and the river runs fast and deep past the city’s wharves. The stretch near the bridge is one of the busiest on the river, with ocean-going ships, barges, ferries and cruise boats sharing the same bend. River cruises also tend to carry older passengers, which is why officials feared the worst in the first hours.
Who is responding, and who will investigate?
Harbour police, the New Orleans fire and police departments, the US Coast Guard and paramedics responded. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said federal assets were being deployed, Governor Jeff Landry travelled to New Orleans and President Donald Trump has been briefed. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause. Coast Guard Captain Melanie Burnham said there “seems to be some kind of a loss of steering” on the tanker, but that the exact cause is not yet known, and the NTSB is sending a go-team to the scene on Saturday. American Cruise Lines said guests and crew were evacuated and it is working with the Coast Guard and local authorities.
The Coast Guard closed the river between mile markers 93 and 96, and the city’s river ferries were suspended. It has not said when the river will reopen.
What is the American Heritage?
Built in 2015, the five-deck riverboat can carry up to 150 passengers on river cruises.
VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
2015American Heritage launched
The five-deck paddlewheel riverboat enters service with American Cruise Lines.
13 November 2026, about 10.30am CentralRiverboat docks
The American Heritage ties up at the Port of New Orleans to let passengers off.
13 November 2026, about 12.30pm CentralCollision
The tanker Atlantic Asphalt strikes the docked riverboat, which sinks and flips.
13 November 2026, evening CentralAll accounted for
The mayor says no one is missing and 32 passengers are in hospital.
What happens next
NTSB investigators are due at the scene on Saturday, local time, joining the Coast Guard in working out why the tanker hit the docked boat, with the apparent loss of steering the first line of inquiry. The Coast Guard says it will look at reopening the river as soon as possible. The river between mile markers 93 and 96 stays closed until responders have assessed the scene, with no reopening time given, which will hold up shipping through the Port of New Orleans. Salvage of the capsized riverboat has not yet been discussed publicly.
Sources
- VNN
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