Follow-up: Voyage Data Recorder Recovered in New Orleans Ship Collision Probe; Preliminary Report Expected Within 30 Days, Eight People Still Hospitalized
The investigation into the November 13 Mississippi River collision at New Orleans, Louisiana, has moved a step forward. The National Transportation Safety Board said it has recovered the voyage data recorder from the tanker Atlantic Asphalt. NTSB member John DeLeeuw said a preliminary report is expected within 30 days, with the final investigation report expected in 18 to 24 months. Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham told reporters on Saturday that the tanker appeared to lose steering, but the exact cause of the crash is not known.
The collision on the Mississippi River at New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, November 13, took a legal turn within hours. The tanker Atlantic Asphalt, which apparently lost its steering, slammed into the docked river cruise boat American Heritage. All 197 passengers and crew on the cruise ship survived, as did the tanker's crew, the Associated Press reported. Officials said 32 people were taken to the hospital, including two police officers thrown into the Mississippi River when the boat rolled, but none of the injuries was critical, and eight people remained hospitalized on Saturday.
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans sued to make sure federal investigators could seize the vessel. The lawsuit said the Atlantic Asphalt caused at least $1 million in damage to the port's terminal. A judge issued a warrant on Friday giving federal officials control of the ship for now. The tanker has been towed away, but the cruise ship remains turned on its side against a terminal in the Mississippi River and could take weeks to move, Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham told reporters on Saturday.
The American Heritage was built in 2015 and is operated by American Cruise Lines. It is five stories tall and can hold up to 150 passengers, and it was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Atlantic Asphalt is a 520-foot-long (160-meter-long) vessel. According to the International Maritime Organization, the ship is owned by Nave Shipping SA, registered in Monrovia, Liberia, which is one of the defendants in the port's lawsuit. New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said at a news conference that zero people were unaccounted for, calling it a miracle on the Mississippi.
Related: [Video Follow-Up: NTSB Holds First Media Briefing on New Orleans Tanker-Cruise Ship Collision]
Source: Associated Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：本次事故中的内河游轮 American Heritage，摄于其原名 Queen of the Mississippi 时期（资料图）。作者：Benroethig，CC BY-SA 4.0，维基共享资源。 / Photo: The riverboat American Heritage, photographed while she sailed under her former name Queen of the Mississippi (file photo). Credit: Benroethig, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-14Follow-up: Voyage Data Recorder Recovered in New Orleans Ship Collision Probe; Preliminary Report Expected Within 30 Days, Eight People Still HospitalizedThis story
