By Robert Semmler
New Orleans, Louisiana – The Port of New Orleans has filed a million-dollar lawsuit against the operator of a tanker that rammed a river cruise ship and forced it against the quay wall.
The lawsuit filed with local media and the CBS network estimates the damage from the accident at least $1 million and demands that the costs be covered.
The roughly 500-foot tanker Atlantic Asphalt collided on Friday with the far smaller river cruise ship that was docked on the Mississippi River.
The force of the impact damaged the vessel so severely that its hull began to fill with water, the ship tipped onto its side and sank halfway into the Mississippi.
All passengers survived. 32 people were injured, according to authorities, but none suffered life‑threatening injuries.
According to reports, the port filed the lawsuit later that same day. The collision is alleged to be the result of "negligence, gross negligence, fault, or careless" on the part of the tanker's operator.
The exact amount of the damage is still being assessed.
The operating company said after the accident that it was cooperating with the authorities and thanked everyone involved in the rescue operation.
According to reports, the tanker was built in 2017 and is registered in the Marshall Islands.