New Orleans port sues to get control of tanker that crashed into cruise ship on Mississippi River

Just hours after a tanker in New Orleans lost its steering and slammed into a docked river cruise boat, the city’s port sued to make sure federal investigators can seize the vessel that is owned by a subsidiary of a Chinese company.

All 197 passengers and crew on the American Heritage cruise ship survived Friday as well as the crew on the tanker.

Officials said 32 people were brought to the hospital, including two police officers thrown into the Mississippi River when the boat rolled. But none of the injuries were critical and eight remained hospitalized Saturday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the tanker’s voyage data recorder has been recovered. The device records information such as the vessel’s speed and audio from the bridge of the tanker. It is the maritime equivalent of an aircraft’s flight data recorder.

NTSB member John DeLeeuw said the agency expects to release a preliminary report within 30 days, with the final investigation report expected in 18 to 24 months. A 16-member team will spend a week in New Orleans investigating the incident.

The lawsuit, filed by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, said the Atlantic Asphalt tanker caused at…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health