Martzell, Bickford & Centola Investigating Mississippi River Collision Between Tanker and the American Heritage Riverboat

On Friday, November 13, 2026, at about 12:30 p.m., the tanker Atlantic Asphalt struck the American Heritage, a paddlewheel riverboat operated by American Cruise Lines, while it was docked at the Port of New Orleans near the Crescent City Connection. The riverboat capsized near mile marker 96 of the Mississippi River. About 129 passengers and additional crew were aboard, finishing an eight-day cruise to river towns in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Rescuers pulled people from the river, and officials report that everyone aboard has been accounted for. Thirty-two passengers were taken to area hospitals. Officials have said the tanker lost control before the collision. The cause remains under investigation.

Our Firm Is Investigating the Collision

Martzell, Bickford & Centola is investigating the collision on behalf of passengers, crew members, and families affected by it. Our office is located at 338 Lafayette St., a short distance from where the American Heritage was moored.

Vessel collisions are governed by federal maritime law, not the ordinary rules that apply to car wrecks. Those rules include short deadlines, contract terms printed on cruise tickets, and a federal statute that lets vessel owners ask a court to cap what they owe. Passengers and crew members should understand those rules before they talk to an insurer or sign anything.

Passengers Have Claims Under Federal Maritime Law

A cruise operator owes its passengers reasonable care under the circumstances. A vessel underway owes every other vessel on the river a duty of safe navigation, and the law presumes that a moving vessel that strikes a moored one is at fault. Passengers injured in this collision may have claims against the tanker's owner and operator, the cruise line, or both.

Recoverable damages can include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and lost or damaged belongings. In some circumstances, maritime law also allows recovery for emotional injury suffered by people placed in immediate danger of physical harm, even when their physical injuries were minor. Passengers thrown into the river or trapped aboard a capsizing vessel should not assume they have no claim because they were not hospitalized.

Crew Members Have Additional Rights as Seamen

Crew members aboard the American Heritage are likely seamen under federal law. A seaman injured on the job may bring a Jones Act claim against an employer whose negligence played any part in the injury. A seaman may also claim that the vessel was unseaworthy, and is entitled to maintenance and cure: daily living expenses and medical care until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement.

Seamen may also have claims against the tanker's owner and operator. Employers and their insurers often ask injured crew members for recorded statements soon after an accident. Crew members should consider speaking with a lawyer before giving one.

Deadlines in Maritime Cases Are Short and Unforgiving

Cruise tickets are contracts, and their fine print often shortens the time to act. Federal law allows a passenger ticket to require written notice of an injury claim within six months and a lawsuit within one year. Many tickets also require suit in a particular court, sometimes far from where the injury happened. Passengers should keep their ticket and booking confirmation and have the terms reviewed promptly.

The Limitation of Liability Act creates a second deadline. It allows a vessel owner to file a federal lawsuit asking the court to cap its liability, often at the value of the vessel after the accident. When that happens, the court halts other lawsuits and sets a date by which every injured person must file a claim in the limitation case. Claimants who miss that date risk losing their claims. After the 1996 Bright Field allision at the Riverwalk, New Orleans saw exactly this kind of proceeding.

What Passengers and Crew Should Do Now

• Get medical care and follow up. Some injuries, including head injuries, aspiration of river water, and hypothermia effects, are not obvious on the day they happen. Keep every record and bill.
• Keep your documents. Save your ticket, booking confirmation, any notices from the cruise line, and receipts for expenses caused by the collision.
• Preserve photos, video, and messages. Do not delete anything you recorded or sent from the vessel or the riverbank.
• Write down what you remember. Note where you were aboard, what you saw and heard, and who was near you, while the details are fresh.
• Be careful with insurers and releases. Do not sign a release or accept a payment conditioned on giving up claims until you understand what you are giving up.
• Watch the deadlines. The ticket terms and any limitation proceeding can cut off claims within months.

Our Lawyers Have Litigated Major Maritime Disasters Through Federal Limitation Proceedings

When the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Martzell, Bickford & Centola represented crew members aboard the rig, including the families of two workers killed in the explosion. Our lawyers appeared in the vessel owners' federal limitation proceeding, the same kind of proceeding that often follows a collision like this one.

Scott R. Bickford served on several discovery committees in the Deepwater Horizon litigation and participated in the joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. He is a past president of the Louisiana Association for Justice, has served on the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, and directs trial advocacy at Tulane Law School.

Lawrence J. Centola, III is the incoming president of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the immediate past president of the Federal Bar Association.

Our practice also includes vessel-related injury and death claims, Jones Act cases, and claims arising from occupational exposure aboard vessels and in shipyards.

Contact Us

If you or a family member was aboard the American Heritage, or if you are a lawyer whose client was, you can reach Martzell, Bickford & Centola at (504) 581-9065 or at our office at 338 Lafayette Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130.

This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Facts about the collision are drawn from public reports as of November 13, 2026, and may change as investigations proceed.