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.
asserted
that → lose → company
All 197 passengers and crew on the American Heritage cruise ship survived Friday as well as the crew on the tanker.
asserted
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.
asserted
boat → say → River
But none of the injuries were critical and eight remained hospitalized Saturday.
asserted
eight → remain → injuries
Lawsuit leads to warrant to get control of tanker
asserted
Lawsuit → lead → tanker
The lawsuit, filed by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, said the Atlantic Asphalt tanker caused at least $1 million in damage to its terminal.
asserted
tanker → file → terminal
A judge issued a warrant Friday giving federal officials control of the ship for now.
asserted
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.
uncertain
Burnham → tow → reporters
The first step is to make sure the 16,000 gallons (60,500 liters) of fuel on the boat are removed safely, she said.
asserted
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.
asserted
boats → say → River
The tanker appeared to lose steering, but the exact cause of the crash is not known, Burnham said.
asserted
Burnham → appear → crash
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to New Orleans.
asserted
Board → send → Orleans
Survivor recalls harrowing minutes in the river
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 WDSU-TV.
asserted
Knab → recall → TV
The hit was hard, and the ship immediately started leaning.
asserted
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 66-degree Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius).
asserted
water → gather → River
Tugboat operators, other cruise ship captains, nearby workers, police and other rescuers rushed to help.
“It’s fine now, but it was a little scary there at the time.
asserted
it → rush → time
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.
asserted
he → think → mud
Knab said he thinks he was in the water about 15 minutes.
asserted
he → say → water
He laughed and said his 20 years in the Navy likely helped him.
asserted
years → laugh → him
“They taught us not to drown,” Knab said.
asserted
Knab → teach → us
Knab was wearing a shirt from a Hilton hotel where the passengers gathered.
asserted
passengers → wear → hotel
Somehow his cellphone still worked.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
Montroll → ’ → success
The American Heritage was finishing an eight-day cruise to several Mississippi River destinations.
asserted
Heritage → finish → destinations
It had a final destination in New Orleans, according to MarineTraffic, and was sailing under a flag for the Marshall Islands.
uncertain
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.
uncertain
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.
uncertain
Shipping → sprawl → tracker
China State Shipbuilding Corp. didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.
asserted
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.
uncertain
that → involve → MarineTraffic
The Aporia
