Tanker hits river cruise boat on Mississippi River, 32 in hospital

LAST UPDATE | 7 hrs ago

A TANKER STRUCK a river cruise boat in New Orleans with 180 passengers aboard on Friday night, partially submerging the boat and sending 32 people to hospital.

Despite the fact that passengers were disembarking at the time of the collision, which took place at about 12.30 pm (6.30pm Irish time), there were no fatalities.

“This is a miracle. It is a literal miracle on the Mississippi,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry told reporters.

Thirty-two people were taken to local hospitals for treatment, but none had suffered critical injuries, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno told a press conference.

Two of those hospitalised were police officers who were helping with the evacuations, she added.

Moreno put the total number of people on the river cruiser at between 180 and 190.

American Cruise Lines, who operate The American Heritage riverboat cruise, confirmed the incident in a statement, adding: “Guests and crew were evacuated, and we are deeply concerned for everyone involved.”

In a later statement, it said: “We are getting everyone who was aboard the ship settled into hotels and making sure they have everything they need.”

It was not immediately clear why the tanker collided with the river cruiser, which had docked about two hours before the collision.

Video from the scene showed the much larger Atlantic Asphalt tanker hit the cruise boat while it appeared to be docked as metal and glass crashed and crunched.

More than a dozen people in lifejackets were dragged from the 19C river on to nearby ships.

Others were standing near the railing as the other side of the American Heritage listed further into the water.

“Surreal – that’s what that was,” witness Jamie Holford told WDSU-TV.

“Fifteen minutes from impact to where it rolled over.”

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Devon Flanagan was at his job nearby at the Port of New Orleans when workers began rushing down the dock.

He got out of his truck and noticed the American Heritage on its side and passengers in the water.

“It was just chaos,” he said.

“You had all types of ships, like other barges and other companies down there trying to help out, which also was a little convoluted because you had people still in the water.”

The cruise ship was built in 2015 and operated by American Cruise Lines.

It is five storeys and can hold up to 150 passengers.

The American Heritage was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The cruise line said it was working with the Coast Guard and would share more information when it can.

The tanker involved in the crash specialises in carrying large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, a semi-solid substance that is often used for road construction and roofing, according to the live shipping tracker MarineTraffic.

Ships carrying asphalt and bitumen are often heated well above 120C to prevent the asphalt from solidifying on the ship, according to the maritime periodical Marine Insights.

It is not immediately clear whether the ship was carrying any materials when the crash occurred.

The 520ft (160-metre) long vessel had a final destination in New Orleans, according to MarineTraffic, and was sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands.

US President Donald Trump thanked Landry for his “outstanding leadership during this very agonizing period of time,” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The Mississippi River was closed to vessel traffic in the area of the incident.

The US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the crash.