The US House of Representatives has passed a US Coast Guard reauthorisation bill that includes policies to improve the safety of amphibious passenger vessels known as DUKW or duck boats and holds the coast guard accountable to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations.
The vessels were designed and built in the 1940s for military use during World War II. Some were later converted for commercial service.
The NTSB said duck boats are unique vessels with special challenges that must be addressed to ensure passenger safety. These require greater stability and reserve buoyancy, canopy and seatbelt removal before waterborne operations and training for crews.
The NTSB first identified these safety issues in 1999 with the sinking of the duck boat Miss Majestic in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in an incident that claimed 21 lives. Corrective actions were subsequently recommended by the board.
The NTSB said the recommended actions following the Miss Majestic incident were not acted on. The recommendations were again made following the 2018 sinking of Stretch Duck 7 (pictured) in Branson, Missouri, after another 17 lives were lost.
On March 21, 2022, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on duck boat and other safety issues.
If enacted, the legislation would require the coast guard to respond to NTSB safety recommendations within 90 days, as is required for agencies within the Department of Transportation (DOT). The NTSB said that, when the coast guard was transferred from the DOT to the newly established Department of Homeland Security in 2003, it was no longer subject to those requirements.
