II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 62 

To implement recommendations related to the safety of amphibious passenger 

vessels, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 27, 2021 

Mr. HAWLEY (for himself and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To implement recommendations related to the safety of 

amphibious passenger vessels, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Duck Boat Safety En5 hancement Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR AMPHIBIOUS PAS7 SENGER VESSELS. 

8 (a) SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.— 

9 (1) BUOYANCY REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

10 than 1 year after the date of completion of a Coast 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 62 IS

1 Guard contracted assessment by the National Acad2 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the 

3 technical feasibility, practicality, and safety benefits 

4 of providing reserve buoyancy through passive means 

5 on amphibious passenger vessels, the Secretary of 

6 the department in which the Coast Guard is oper7 ating may initiate a rulemaking to prescribe in regu8 lations that operators of amphibious passenger ves9 sels provide reserve buoyancy for such vessels 

10 through passive means, including watertight 

11 compartmentalization, built-in flotation, or such 

12 other means as the Secretary may specify in the reg13 ulations, in order to ensure that such vessels remain 

14 afloat and upright in the event of flooding, including 

15 when carrying a full complement of passengers and 

16 crew. 

17 (2) INTERIM REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

18 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

19 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

20 Guard is operating shall initiate a rulemaking to im21 plement interim safety policies or other measures to 

22 require that operators of amphibious passenger ves23 sels operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of 

24 the United States, as defined in section 2.38 of title 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 62 IS

1 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor reg2 ulation) comply with the following: 

3 (A) Remove the canopies of such vessels 

4 for waterborne operations, or install in such 

5 vessels a canopy that does not restrict either 

6 horizontal or vertical escape by passengers in 

7 the event of flooding or sinking. 

8 (B) If the canopy is removed from such 

9 vessel pursuant to subparagraph (A), require 

10 that all passengers don a Coast Guard type-ap11 proved personal flotation device before the onset 

12 of waterborne operations of such vessel. 

13 (C) Install in such vessels at least one 

14 independently powered electric bilge pump that 

15 is capable of dewatering such vessels at the vol16 ume of the largest remaining penetration in 

17 order to supplement the vessel’s existing bilge 

18 pump required under section 182.520 of title 

19 46, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

20 regulation). 

21 (D) Verify the watertight integrity of such 

22 vessel in the water at the outset of each water23 borne departure of such vessel. 

24 (b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 

25 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 62 IS

1 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op2 erating shall initiate a rulemaking for amphibious pas3 senger vessels operating in waters subject to the jurisdic4 tion of the United States, as defined in section 2.38 of 

5 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regu6 lation). The regulations shall include, at a minimum, the 

7 following: 

8 (1) SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY PREPARED9 NESS.—Requirements that an operator of an am10 phibious passenger vessel— 

11 (A) check and notate in the vessel’s log12 book the National Weather Service forecast be13 fore getting underway and periodically while 

14 underway; 

15 (B) in the case of a watch or warning 

16 issued for wind speeds exceeding the wind speed 

17 equivalent used to certify the stability of an am18 phibious passenger vessel, proceed to the near19 est harbor or safe refuge; and 

20 (C) maintain and monitor a weather mon21 itor radio receiver at the operator station that 

22 may be automatically activated by the warning 

23 alarm device of the National Weather Service. 

24 (2) PASSENGER SAFETY.—Requirements— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 62 IS

1 (A) concerning whether personal flotation 

2 devices should be required for the duration of 

3 an amphibious passenger vessel’s waterborne 

4 transit, which shall be considered and deter5 mined by the Secretary; 

6 (B) that operators of amphibious pas7 senger vessels inform passengers that seat belts 

8 may not be worn during waterborne operations; 

9 (C) that before the commencement of wa10 terborne operations, a crew member visually 

11 check that each passenger has unbuckled the 

12 passenger’s seatbelt; and 

13 (D) that operators or crew maintain a log 

14 recording the actions described in subpara15 graphs (B) and (C). 

16 (3) TRAINING.—Requirement for annual train17 ing for operators and crew of amphibious passengers 

18 vessels, including— 

19 (A) training for personal flotation and seat 

20 belt requirements, verifying the integrity of the 

21 vessel at the onset of each waterborne depar22 ture, identification of weather hazards, and use 

23 of National Weather Service resources prior to 

24 operation; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 62 IS

1 (B) training for crewmembers to respond 

2 to emergency situations, including flooding, en3 gine compartment fires, man overboard situa4 tions, and in water emergency egress proce5 dures. 

6 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS FROM REPORTS.—Re7 quirements to address recommendations from the 

8 following reports, as practicable and to the extent 

9 that such recommendations are under the jurisdic10 tion of the Coast Guard: 

11 (A) The National Transportation Safety 

12 Board’s Safety Recommendation Reports on the 

13 Amphibious Passenger Vessel incidents in Table 

14 Rock, Missouri, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Se15 attle, Washington. 

16 (B) The Coast Guard’s Marine Investiga17 tion Board reports on the Stretch Duck 7 

18 sinkings at Table Rock, Missouri, and the Miss 

19 Majestic sinking near Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

20 (5) INTERIM REQUIREMENTS.—The interim re21 quirements described in subsection (a)(2), as appro22 priate. 

23 (c) PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF NONCOMPLIANT

24 VESSELS.—Commencing as of the date specified by the 

25 Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 62 IS

1 operating pursuant to subsection (d), any amphibious pas2 senger vessel whose configuration or operation does not 

3 comply with the requirements under subsection (a)(2) (or 

4 subsection (a)(1), if prescribed) may not operate in waters 

5 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as defined 

6 in section 2.38 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations 

7 (or a successor regulation). 

8 (d) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.—The regulations 

9 and interim requirements described in subsections (a) and 

10 (b) shall require compliance with the requirements in the 

11 regulations not later than 2 years after the date of enact12 ment of this Act, as the Secretary of the department in 

13 which the Coast Guard is operating may specify in the 

14 regulations. 

15 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the pro16 mulgation of the regulations required under subsection 

17 (a), the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall provide 

18 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

19 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep21 resentatives regarding the status of the implementation of 

22 the requirements included in such regulations. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS