The US Senate has unanimously passed bipartisan legislation calling for improvement in the safety of duck boats following a deadly sinking in Missouri's Table Rock Lake in 2018.
The Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2019 authored by US Senator Josh Hawley would authorise previously outlined National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations, including commonsense provisions to require the use of life jackets and equipping all operating duck boats to be more buoyant in the case of emergency flooding.
Amendments were made to the bill during the committee process. Those amendments include:
On July 19, 2018, 17 people died and 11 others were injured when the Ripley Entertainment-owned duck boat Stretch Duck 7 capsized on Table Rock Lake during a thunderstorm near Branson, Missouri, in one of the deadliest boating accidents in US history.
Legislation co-author US Senator Roy Blunt said the Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act implements reasonable safety recommendations from the NTSB that would have prevented the tragedy on Table Rock Lake and will preserve both safety and enjoyment for future duck boat riders.