River cruise ship, tanker crash in New Orleans on Mississippi River; passengers rescued

Updated on: November 13, 2026 / 11:03 PM EST / CBS News

A major rescue operation took place Friday after a tanker struck a river cruise ship on the Mississippi River near the Port of New Orleans, leaving the American Heritage passenger boat on its side and largely submerged in the water.

Everyone aboard both vessels has been accounted for, officials said, and there were no fatalities reported.

The much larger tanker, identified as the Atlantic Asphalt, crashed into the paddlewheel cruise boat while it was docked at about 12:30 p.m. local time, the Port of New Orleans said. The American Heritage had docked about two hours earlier for passengers to disembark.

In a news briefing late Friday afternoon, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said 32 passengers from the cruise ship were taken to area hospitals for treatment, but none with critical injuries. No one aboard the tanker was hurt, Moreno said.

New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said two of her officers were also hospitalized during the rescue operation, but were in good condition.

There were about 129 passengers, in addition to crew members, aboard the American Heritage at the time of the collision, according to Port NOLA.

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/