INTRODUCTION OF THE DUCK BOAT SAFETY ACT, TO IMPLEMENT SAFETY REGULATIONS RELATED TO AMPHIBIOUS PASSENGER VESSELS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 82
(Extensions of Remarks - May 16, 2019)
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTRODUCTION OF THE DUCK BOAT SAFETY ACT, TO IMPLEMENT SAFETY
REGULATIONS RELATED TO AMPHIBIOUS PASSENGER VESSELS AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
______
HON. ANDRE CARSON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to reintroduce the
Duck Boat Safety bill, to implement safety regulations for amphibious
passenger vessels. These safety recommendations were made by federal
agencies to address known problems associated with duck boats that have
resulted in far too many injuries and fatalities.
I became aware of these problems when my constituents, the Coleman
family, were involved in a horrible duck boat accident on July 19, 2018
in Branson, Missouri. Tia Coleman was one of only two survivors in her
family of 11, losing her husband Glenn and her children Reece (nine
years old), Evan (seven years old), and Arya (one year old). Tia's 13-
year-old nephew, Donovan Coleman, was the other surviving family
member, losing his mother Angela, his younger brother Maxwell (two
years old), his uncles Ervin (76 years old) and Butch (70 years old),
and his aunt Belinda (69 years old). Boarding a duck boat on Table Rock
Lake started out as a fun outing for this family, but it turned into an
unspeakable tragedy when the boat capsized and sank. Seventeen of the
31 passengers on board were killed.
Investigations by state and federal authorities are still underway,
and lawsuits are pending over the specifics of this incident. But there
is a long record of problems associated with duck boat operations that
should be addressed now. Since 1999, more than 40 people have died in
duck boat accidents, the vast majority of them from drowning when the
vessel sinks. In 2002, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
issued recommendations to improve the safety of the vessels in cases of
flooding or sinking, but little has been done to implement those
measures. We know from these past incidents that more can be done to
make these vessels safe. Congress does not need to wait to act.
While we wait to learn more about the specific circumstances and
causes that led to the tragedy on Table Rock Lake, this legislation
would implement the NTSB's past recommendations to improve the ability
of duck boats (officially referred to as ``amphibious passenger
vessels'') to stay afloat in a flooding or sinking situation.
Specifically, this bill would direct the Coast Guard to issue
regulations within one year of enactment to require operators of
amphibious passenger vessels to retrofit their vessels to provide
reserve buoyancy. Vessel operators would have no longer than two years
to comply with the requirements.
While vessel operators work to comply with the reserve buoyancy
requirements, this bill directs them to implement interim measures to
improve vessel safety, including:
a. Removing canopies from vessels for waterborne operations, or
replacing canopies with structures that do not restrict escape in the
event of flooding or sinking;
b. If canopies are removed, requiring that all passengers wear a
personal flotation device while the vessel is on the water;
c. Permanently closing all unnecessary access plugs and reducing
through-hull penetrations to the minimum number and size necessary;
d. Installing independently-powered electric bilge pumps;
e. Installing no fewer than four independently-powered bilge alarms;
f. Mandating inspection of vessels in water after each through-hull
penetration;
g. Verifying watertight integrity of vessels in the water at the
outset of each waterborne departure; and
h. Otherwise complying with existing Coast Guard regulations related
to the inspection, configuration, and operation of such vessels.
Those vessels that do not meet the one-year deadline to implement
interim safety measures, as well as those that do not meet the two-year
deadline to install reserve buoyancy systems, would be prohibited from
operating on U.S. waterways until they are compliant.
Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this
bill to make common-sense corrections to the persistent safety problems
facing duck boats so that no other family must face the kind of tragedy
experienced by my constituents on Table Rock Lake. I urge the House to
support this bill
____________________