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

The Port of New Orleans has sued to secure federal control of the tanker Atlantic Asphalt, seeking to preserve investigators’ access after it struck a docked cruise ship. A judge issued a warrant giving federal officials control of the tanker, whose steering failure is suspected but whose cause remains unknown.

All 197 passengers and crew aboard the American Heritage survived, as did the tanker’s crew; 32 people were taken to hospital, none with critical injuries, and eight remained hospitalised on Saturday. The port says the tanker caused at least $1 million in terminal damage. The cruise ship remains on its side and may take weeks to move; crews must first safely remove its 16,000 gallons of fuel.