Tanker hits river cruise boat in New Orleans with 129 passengers aboard; rescues under way

A tanker struck the river cruise boat American Heritage in New Orleans on Friday afternoon with 129 passengers aboard, partly submerging the vessel, CNBC reported. Rescues were under way on the Mississippi River. Officials had not said, as of CNBC's latest update, whether anyone was injured or killed. This is a developing story and the figures below may change.

What is confirmed so far

• The boat: American Heritage is a five-story paddlewheel cruise boat built in 2015 and operated by American Cruise Lines. It holds up to 150 passengers and was finishing an eight-day trip through several Louisiana and Mississippi river stops, according to CNBC.
• The tanker: CNBC, citing the MarineTraffic tracker, identified the ship as the Atlantic Asphalt, a 520-foot (160-meter) asphalt and bitumen carrier under the Marshall Islands flag, with New Orleans as its destination. It was not clear whether it was carrying cargo.
• The scene: Video showed the larger ship hitting the paddlewheeler while it appeared to be docked. More than a dozen people in life jackets were pulled from the 66-degree river onto nearby vessels, CNBC said.
• The cruise line said it was working with the Coast Guard and would share more when it could.

Headlines from Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and AP describe the same event. Reuters called the other ship a "freighter," so the vessel type differs by outlet; we use CNBC's identification, which cites ship-tracking data. We could not read those outlets' full reports and have not used their details.

What we do not know

There is no confirmed count of injured or missing people, no cause, and no statement on whether any cargo leaked. Causes of river collisions are normally investigated by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board, and findings take months. Nothing here should be read as assigning blame.

The practical angle

New Orleans sits on one of the busiest freight corridors in the country, and a Coast Guard response can restrict river traffic near a collision site while crews work. We have seen no announcement of any closure, so we are not reporting one. Shippers and anyone with cargo or travel booked on the lower Mississippi should watch the Coast Guard's New Orleans sector for navigation notices. Passengers' relatives should rely on the cruise line and Coast Guard for information rather than social media.

We will update this story when officials release casualty figures or a cause.

Sources: CNBC, Nov. 13, 2026 (with AP photo credit); headlines from Reuters, WSJ, Bloomberg and AP News. This is news information, not legal or travel advice.