In an unbelievable video, an asphalt tanker is seen striking a river cruise ship docked in New Orleans. The cruise ship, the American Heritage from American Cruise Lines is then seen listing to its side and then going largely under the water. Drone footage shows the ship now resting on its side, largely submerged in the Mississippi River.
While it’s not clear how many people were onboard, the ship has a 150-guest capacity, plus crew. News reports say that rescues are underway, but we have yet to see any confirmed reports of injuries or the status of those on the ship.
The incident took place at about 12:30 local time in New Orleans.
In a video posted by WDSU.com, you can see the American Heritage docked at the port. The tanker, American Asphalt, strikes the ship perpendicular to the cruise ship, crashing into the side. It’s not clear if the tanker lost steering, propulsion, or if there was some other reason for the crash.
Various footage then shows the cruise ship leaning over as people climb across the side of the ship. Meanwhile, other video shows multiple people and debris in the water.
American Heritage is a paddlewheeler with five decks built in 2015. The ship was slated to depart today on an 8-day roundtrip cruise up the Mississippi River, including stops in Baton Rouge, Natchez, and St. Francisville according to the American Cruise Lines website.
American Asphalt is an asphalt/bitumen tanker that’s flagged in the Marshall Islands, according to MarineTraffic.com. The ship measures 160 meters, or roughly 525 feet in length. It’s not known if the ship was carrying any cargo at the time of collision.
While the river cruise ship sank, the tanker appears to show little damage in the videos shown.
At current time it’s not clear if there are still people still on the sunken cruise ship or if all passengers and crew have been evacuated.
