AMERICAN QUEEN

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Search on for missing crew member suspended

The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for a man overboard from the 'American Queen' near Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Dec 2. Rescue crews searched for more than 100 miles of the Lower Mississippi River for approximately 32 hours. Watcstanders with Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a radio call on Dec 1 at 2:03 a.m. on VHF-FM channel 16 from the vessel reporting a man overboard and stated they launched a man-overboard rescue boatcrew. The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and closed the Mississippi River from mile marker 230 to mile marker 224 for deep draft commercial vessels. Involved in the search were: - Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter: - Coast Guard Station New Orleans 29-foot Response Boat; - Coast Guard Cutter 'Kickapoo'; - East and West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department marine units; - Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; - Louisiana State University Campus police for shoreline search.

Search for crew member lost over board

The US Coast Guard was searching for a crew member lost overboard from the 'American Queen' on Dec 1, 2021, near mile marker 229 of the Mississippi River around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a radio call at 2:03 a.m. from the ship stating a crew member fell overboard. The crew launched an MOB. The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and closed the Mississippi River from mile marker 230 to mile marker 224 for deep-draft commercial vessels. Response crews searching were: - Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter; - Coast Guard Station New Orleans 29-foot Response Boat; - Coast Guard Cutter 'Kickapoo'; - East Baton Rouge Sheriff marine unit; - Louisiana State University Campus police for shoreline search.

American Queen re-christened at her homeport by Priscilla Presley

Priscilla Presley late Friday (April 27, 2012) re-christened one of America's best known steamboats, the American Queen, in a ceremony along Memphis' waterfront that marked its return to multi-day cruising on the Mississippi River. Speaking from a balcony on the 436-passenger paddle wheeler, Presley told an audience of hundreds of invited guests and passengers that the American Queen's revival by a Memphis company would be a boon for the city. The vessel has been laid up since the demise of the Majestic America Line in 2008. "It is such an honor to be here today to take part in this special occasion, which will forever change the landscape of Memphis," the former wife of music legend Elvis Presley said before smashing a bottle of champagne at the front of the boat. "Just like the blues, just like barbecue and, yes, just like Elvis Presley, it's going to be a part of Memphis." The newly formed Great American Steamboat Company is trying to revive what was once a robust overnight cruise business on the Mississippi and its tributaries -- a business that collapsed over the past decade with the back-to-back shutdowns of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company in 2001 and the Majestic America Line in 2008.