Filipino Crew of Tanker Atlantic Asphalt Safe, NTSB Recovers VDR
All 17 Filipino seafarers on the Marshall Islands-flagged bitumen tanker Atlantic Asphalt are safe after the ship struck and capsized the docked river cruise ship American Heritage on the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the southern United States, on 13 November. The Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed this in Manila on 15 November.
The DMW said checks with the local manning agency showed that every Filipino crew member on the tanker is accounted for. The agency is sending each seafarer’s details so the department can keep track of their condition and welfare. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the department is working on their safe return home and that, as far as it knows, no Filipinos were working on the riverboat.
From the CrewMirror Blog
In the US, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team of 16 investigators. They have recovered the tanker’s voyage data recorder (VDR) and plan to interview crew members. Officials have said the tanker appeared to lose steering just before it hit the paddleboat, but the cause has not been confirmed. The US Coast Guard plans to remove about 16,000 gallons of fuel from the capsized riverboat, and salvage is expected to take weeks. Of the 32 people taken to hospital, all but eight had been released by the afternoon of 14 November.
CrewMirror’s first report on the New Orleans collision covered the accident itself. The DMW recently signed a joint welfare agreement with the ITF and AMOSUP to coordinate help for Filipino crews caught up in emergencies.
CrewMirror Takeaway
Crews involved in a serious accident can expect early interviews by investigators and a close review of the VDR. They may ask for their union, P&I club or company representative to be informed, and should keep their statements calm and factual.
