The Port of New Orleans has filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the tanker that collided with a docked cruise ship on the Mississippi River on Friday, seeking at least $1 million in damages.
The suit, brought by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, names the tanker Atlantic Asphalt along with its owner, Nave Shipping SA, and its management company, Thome Ship Management, as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, the Atlantic Asphalt struck the American Heritage, a river cruise paddleboat, at 12:30 p.m. Friday while the vessel was docked at the Thalia Street terminal to let passengers off. The impact left the paddleboat on its side and partially submerged.
Nearly 200 people were aboard the American Heritage at the time. All passengers and crew survived, with more than 100 people rescued from the river, an outcome New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno called "the miracle on the Mississippi." Thirty-two people were taken to hospitals, none with critical injuries. As of Saturday, eight people remained hospitalized, two of them in serious condition.
Port commissioners said the collision caused significant damage to the Thalia Street terminal. "The extent of said damage remains under investigation, but physical damage is currently estimated to exceed [$1 million], with additional substantial direct, indirect and consequential damages anticipated," the lawsuit states. The filing also says the port expects further costs for cleanup, surveys, repairs, replacement and salvage.
On Friday, port officials asked that the tanker be seized and sold to help cover the damage, and a federal judge approved the seizure request. The suit claims the crash resulted from "the negligence, gross negligence, fault or carelessness" of Atlantic Asphalt, Nave Shipping SA and Thome Ship Management.
Moreno said Saturday that the Atlantic Asphalt had been towed from the site, but she cautioned that fully removing the American Heritage could take weeks. Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham said crews are focused on reopening the river completely and safely removing hazardous material from the stranded ship, which is estimated to be carrying 160,000 gallons of fuel.
"We're going to have divers in the water so they can do a full assessment on what's the right path to be able to remove it," Burnham said. "We also have teams that have been deployed throughout the entire area, the river system to monitor the area for any pollution." Restrictions remain in place for boat traffic along that stretch of the Mississippi.
The cause of the crash has not been determined, though Burnham said the tanker appeared to experience a steering problem. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, and board member John DeLeeuw said at a Saturday briefing that the tanker's voyage data recorder has been recovered. "It's like a flight data recorder on an aircraft. We can look at speeds and all kinds of information," he said.
The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report within 30 days, while a final report on probable causes and safety recommendations is expected in 18 to 24 months.
