A terrible accident reportedly occurred in New Orleans on Friday as a tanker collided with a riverboat cruise and capsized the ship with tourists on board.
As of 5 p.m. Eastern time, authorities had managed to rescue all the passengers and crew on the riverboat, and no one was confirmed dead, according to the Fox News report. But 32 people did have to go to the hospital with injuries as a result of the huge accident. Altogether, there were 129 passengers and a number of crewmen.
#BREAKING: Watch as river cruise ship capsizes in New Orleans with passengers still aboard. https://t.co/i6k9aDmxhf
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) November 13, 2026
The riverboat, American Heritage, was docked at the time of the accident. Sadly, the boat did sink into the Mississippi River.
[Live Now Fox:] The Atlantic Asphalt tanker struck the American Heritage around 12:30 p.m. on the Mississippi River outside 1350 Port of New Orleans Place, according to the Port of New Orleans.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said 32 people were taken to hospitals, none with critical injuries, and all people on board were accounted for. Moreno called it "a miracle."
American Cruise Lines operated the American Heritage, which was built in 2015, according to Fox. It was five stories tall and could hold up to 150 passengers, so it was not at full capacity. The riverboat had docked about two hours before the tanker crashed.
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Federal authorities were involved with the rescue efforts after the crash, according to the riverboat’s operating company. “We are in close coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities," it told FOX Television Stations. "Guests and crew were evacuated, and we are deeply concerned for everyone involved.”
Coast Guard Lt. Krystal Wolfe confirmed that the stretch of the Mississippi River where the accident occurred was closed to all vessel traffic until authorities decided they had completed adequate response operations.
Fox noted that the American Heritage had just finished an eight-day cruise which took tourists to various points of interest in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The tanker involved in the crash specializes in carrying large quantities of asphalt and bitumen, a semi-solid substance that is often used for road construction and roofing, according to the live shipping tracker MarineTraffic… The vessel is 520 feet long and had a final destination in New Orleans, according to MarineTraffic. It was sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands.
Ironically, the boat crash in New Orleans happened the same day that all flights had to come to a ground stop in America due to a Federal Aviation Administration systems malfunction, possibly due to an artificial intelligence glitch or a cyber attack. It was a terrible day for Americans traveling or vacationing, it seems. We pray that all of the people injured in the boat crash survive and do not suffer permanent damage.
Reports have so far not provided details on what went wrong, but given that the American Heritage was docked at the time, the initial problem is likely to be with the tanker.