New Orleans port sues for control of China-linked tanker that crashed into cruise ship
Move comes hours after tanker lost its steering, slammed into docked river cruise boat
Just hours after a tanker in New Orleans lost its steering and slammed into a docked river cruise boat, the city's port sued to make sure federal investigators can seize the vessel that is owned by a subsidiary of a Chinese company.
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that → sue → company
All 197 passengers and crew on the American Heritage cruise ship survived Friday as well as the crew on the tanker.
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passengers → survive → tanker
Officials said 32 people were brought to the hospital, including two police officers thrown into the Mississippi River when the boat rolled.
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boat → say → River
But none of the injuries were critical and eight remained hospitalized Saturday.
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eight → remain → injuries
The lawsuit, filed by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, said the Atlantic Asphalt tanker caused at least $1 million US in damage to its terminal.
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tanker → file → terminal
A judge issued a warrant Friday giving federal officials control of the ship for now.
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judge → issue → ship
The tanker has been towed away from the site, but it could take weeks to move the cruise ship, which remains turned on its side against a terminal in the Mississippi River, Coast Guard Capt. Melanie Burnham told reporters Saturday.
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Burnham → tow → reporters
It could take weeks to move the cruise ship, which remains turned on its side against a terminal in the Mississippi River.
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which → take → River
The first step is to make sure the 60,500 litres of fuel on the boat are removed safely, she said.
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she → make → boat
Traffic has been limited on the Mississippi River, but Burnham said boats should be able to move both upstream and downstream soon.
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boats → limit → River
The tanker appeared to lose steering, but the exact cause of the crash is not known, Burnham said.
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Burnham → appear → crash
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to New Orleans.
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Board → send → Orleans
'I thought I was drowning'
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I → think → ?
The first warning people on board the American Heritage had was the tanker blasting its horn several times as it floated toward the cruise ship, passenger Joe Knab told local news outlet WDSU-TV.
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Knab → have → TV
The hit was hard, and the ship immediately started leaning.
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ship → start → ?
The crew gathered everyone on the third deck to put on life vests and start getting them off the boat, but it suddenly rolled and sent Knab and about 100 other passengers and crew into the muddy Mississippi River, where the water was 19 C.
Tugboat operators, other cruise ship captains, nearby workers, police and other rescuers rushed to help.
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operators → gather → River
People are helped out of the water by responders on Friday.
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People → help → Friday
Dozens were hospitalized but none of the injuries were deemed critical.
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none → hospitalize → injuries
I thought I was drowning because I kept bobbing underneath — and the water doesn't taste very good," Knab told the television station, still in the jeans he was wearing on the boat, now covered in mud.
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he → think → mud
Knab said he thinks he was in the water about 15 minutes.
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he → say → water
He laughed and said his 20 years in the Navy likely helped him.
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years → laugh → him
"They taught us not to drown," Knab said.
Knab was wearing a shirt from a Hilton hotel where the passengers gathered.
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passengers → teach → hotel
Somehow his cellphone still worked.
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cellphone → work → ?
He hoped to get on a plane soon back to Wichita, Kansas, but he was not sure how Friday's nationwide ground stop was going to throw another problem at him.
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stop → hop → him
Putting the life vests on the passengers as they waited to get off the boat likely saved a number of lives when the boat suddenly turned into the water, New Orleans Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll said.
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Montroll → put → water
"Whether it's 10 feet of water or 200 feet, having those vests, having that population put those vests on and kind of float upriver while we retrieve them — I think was the best factor of success," Montroll said.
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Montroll → have → success
The American Heritage was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations.
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Heritage → finish → destinations
It had a final destination in New Orleans, according to MarineTraffic, and was sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands.
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It → have → Islands
The ship is owned by a company called Nave Shipping SA, which is registered in Monrovia, Liberia, according to the International Maritime Organization and was one of the defendants in the lawsuit filed Friday.
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which → own → lawsuit
Nave Shipping is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, a sprawling Chinese state-owned conglomerate, according to the live shipping tracker MarineTraffic.
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Shipping → sprawl → tracker
China State Shipbuilding Corp. didn't respond to an emailed request for comment.
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Corp. → respond → comment
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 MarineTraffic.
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that → involve → MarineTraffic
The Aporia
