Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2021

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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Duck Boat Safety En- 4 hancement Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR AMPHIBIOUS PAS- 6 SENGER VESSELS. 7 (a) SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.— 8 (1) BUOYANCY REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 9 than 1 year after the date of completion of a Coast 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 62 IS Guard contracted assessment by the National Acad- 1 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the 2 technical feasibility, practicality, and safety benefits 3 of providing reserve buoyancy through passive means 4 on amphibious passenger vessels, the Secretary of 5 the department in which the Coast Guard is oper- 6 ating may initiate a rulemaking to prescribe in regu- 7 lations that operators of amphibious passenger ves- 8 sels provide reserve buoyancy for such vessels 9 through passive means, including watertight 10 compartmentalization, built-in flotation, or such 11 other means as the Secretary may specify in the reg- 12 ulations, in order to ensure that such vessels remain 13 afloat and upright in the event of flooding, including 14 when carrying a full complement of passengers and 15 crew. 16 (2) INTERIM REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 17 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 18 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 19 Guard is operating shall initiate a rulemaking to im- 20 plement interim safety policies or other measures to 21 require that operators of amphibious passenger ves- 22 sels operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of 23 the United States, as defined in section 2.38 of title 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 62 IS 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor reg- 1 ulation) comply with the following: 2 (A) Remove the canopies of such vessels 3 for waterborne operations, or install in such 4 vessels a canopy that does not restrict either 5 horizontal or vertical escape by passengers in 6 the event of flooding or sinking. 7 (B) If the canopy is removed from such 8 vessel pursuant to subparagraph (A), require 9 that all passengers don a Coast Guard type-ap- 10 proved personal flotation device before the onset 11 of waterborne operations of such vessel. 12 (C) Install in such vessels at least one 13 independently powered electric bilge pump that 14 is capable of dewatering such vessels at the vol- 15 ume of the largest remaining penetration in 16 order to supplement the vessel’s existing bilge 17 pump required under section 182.520 of title 18 46, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 19 regulation). 20 (D) Verify the watertight integrity of such 21 vessel in the water at the outset of each water- 22 borne departure of such vessel. 23 (b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 24 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 25 VerDate 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 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op- 1 erating shall initiate a rulemaking for amphibious pas- 2 senger vessels operating in waters subject to the jurisdic- 3 tion of the United States, as defined in section 2.38 of 4 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regu- 5 lation). The regulations shall include, at a minimum, the 6 following: 7 (1) SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY PREPARED- 8 NESS.—Requirements that an operator of an am- 9 phibious passenger vessel— 10 (A) check and notate in the vessel’s log- 11 book the National Weather Service forecast be- 12 fore getting underway and periodically while 13 underway; 14 (B) in the case of a watch or warning 15 issued for wind speeds exceeding the wind speed 16 equivalent used to certify the stability of an am- 17 phibious passenger vessel, proceed to the near- 18 est harbor or safe refuge; and 19 (C) maintain and monitor a weather mon- 20 itor radio receiver at the operator station that 21 may be automatically activated by the warning 22 alarm device of the National Weather Service. 23 (2) PASSENGER SAFETY.—Requirements— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 62 IS (A) concerning whether personal flotation 1 devices should be required for the duration of 2 an amphibious passenger vessel’s waterborne 3 transit, which shall be considered and deter- 4 mined by the Secretary; 5 (B) that operators of amphibious pas- 6 senger vessels inform passengers that seat belts 7 may not be worn during waterborne operations; 8 (C) that before the commencement of wa- 9 terborne operations, a crew member visually 10 check that each passenger has unbuckled the 11 passenger’s seatbelt; and 12 (D) that operators or crew maintain a log 13 recording the actions described in subpara- 14 graphs (B) and (C). 15 (3) TRAINING.—Requirement for annual train- 16 ing for operators and crew of amphibious passengers 17 vessels, including— 18 (A) training for personal flotation and seat 19 belt requirements, verifying the integrity of the 20 vessel at the onset of each waterborne depar- 21 ture, identification of weather hazards, and use 22 of National Weather Service resources prior to 23 operation; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 62 IS (B) training for crewmembers to respond 1 to emergency situations, including flooding, en- 2 gine compartment fires, man overboard situa- 3 tions, and in water emergency egress proce- 4 dures. 5 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS FROM REPORTS.—Re- 6 quirements to address recommendations from the 7 following reports, as practicable and to the extent 8 that such recommendations are under the jurisdic- 9 tion of the Coast Guard: 10 (A) The National Transportation Safety 11 Board’s Safety Recommendation Reports on the 12 Amphibious Passenger Vessel incidents in Table 13 Rock, Missouri, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Se- 14 attle, Washington. 15 (B) The Coast Guard’s Marine Investiga- 16 tion Board reports on the Stretch Duck 7 17 sinkings at Table Rock, Missouri, and the Miss 18 Majestic sinking near Hot Springs, Arkansas. 19 (5) INTERIM REQUIREMENTS.—The interim re- 20 quirements described in subsection (a)(2), as appro- 21 priate. 22 (c) PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF NONCOMPLIANT 23 VESSELS.—Commencing as of the date specified by the 24 Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 62 IS operating pursuant to subsection (d), any amphibious pas- 1 senger vessel whose configuration or operation does not 2 comply with the requirements under subsection (a)(2) (or 3 subsection (a)(1), if prescribed) may not operate in waters 4 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as defined 5 in section 2.38 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations 6 (or a successor regulation). 7 (d) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.—The regulations 8 and interim requirements described in subsections (a) and 9 (b) shall require compliance with the requirements in the 10 regulations not later than 2 years after the date of enact- 11 ment of this Act, as the Secretary of the department in 12 which the Coast Guard is operating may specify in the 13 regulations. 14 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the pro- 15 mulgation of the regulations required under subsection 16 (a), the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall provide 17 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 18 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 19 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives regarding the status of the implementation of 21 the requirements included in such regulations. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Feb 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S62.IS S62 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS