Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2020

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1031 AN ACT 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 2 † S 1031 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Duck Boat Safety En- 2 hancement Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR AMPHIBIOUS PAS- 4 SENGER VESSELS. 5 (a) SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.— 6 (1) BUOYANCY REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 7 than 1 year after the date of completion of a Coast 8 Guard contracted assessment by the National Acad- 9 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the 10 technical feasibility, practicality, and safety benefits 11 of providing reserve buoyancy through passive means 12 on amphibious passenger vessels, the Secretary of 13 the department in which the Coast Guard is oper- 14 ating may initiate a rulemaking to prescribe in regu- 15 lations that operators of amphibious passenger ves- 16 sels provide reserve buoyancy for such vessels 17 through passive means, including watertight 18 compartmentalization, built-in flotation, or such 19 other means as the Secretary may specify in the reg- 20 ulations, in order to ensure that such vessels remain 21 afloat and upright in the event of flooding, including 22 when carrying a full complement of passengers and 23 crew. 24 (2) INTERIM REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 25 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 26 3 † S 1031 ES Secretary of the department in which the Coast 1 Guard is operating shall initiate a rulemaking to im- 2 plement interim safety policies or other measures to 3 require that operators of amphibious passenger ves- 4 sels operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of 5 the United States, as defined in section 2.38 of title 6 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor reg- 7 ulation) comply with the following: 8 (A) Remove the canopies of such vessels 9 for waterborne operations, or install in such 10 vessels a canopy that does not restrict either 11 horizontal or vertical escape by passengers in 12 the event of flooding or sinking. 13 (B) If the canopy is removed from such 14 vessel pursuant to subparagraph (A), require 15 that all passengers don a Coast Guard type-ap- 16 proved personal flotation device before the onset 17 of waterborne operations of such vessel. 18 (C) Install in such vessels at least one 19 independently powered electric bilge pump that 20 is capable of dewatering such vessels at the vol- 21 ume of the largest remaining penetration in 22 order to supplement the vessel’s existing bilge 23 pump required under section 182.520 of title 24 4 † S 1031 ES 46, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 1 regulation). 2 (D) Verify the watertight integrity of such 3 vessel in the water at the outset of each water- 4 borne departure of such vessel. 5 (b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 7 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op- 8 erating shall initiate a rulemaking for amphibious pas- 9 senger vessels operating in waters subject to the jurisdic- 10 tion of the United States, as defined in section 2.38 of 11 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regu- 12 lation). The regulations shall include, at a minimum, the 13 following: 14 (1) SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY PREPARED- 15 NESS.—Requirements that an operator of an am- 16 phibious passenger vessel— 17 (A) check and notate in the vessel’s log- 18 book the National Weather Service forecast be- 19 fore getting underway and periodically while 20 underway; 21 (B) in the case of a watch or warning 22 issued for wind speeds exceeding the wind speed 23 equivalent used to certify the stability of an am- 24 5 † S 1031 ES phibious passenger vessel, proceed to the near- 1 est harbor or safe refuge; and 2 (C) maintain and monitor a weather mon- 3 itor radio receiver at the operator station that 4 may be automatically activated by the warning 5 alarm device of the National Weather Service. 6 (2) PASSENGER SAFETY.—Requirements— 7 (A) concerning whether personal flotation 8 devices should be required for the duration of 9 an amphibious passenger vessel’s waterborne 10 transit, which shall be considered and deter- 11 mined by the Secretary; 12 (B) that operators of amphibious pas- 13 senger vessels inform passengers that seat belts 14 may not be worn during waterborne operations; 15 (C) that before the commencement of wa- 16 terborne operations, a crew member visually 17 check that each passenger has unbuckled the 18 passenger’s seatbelt; and 19 (D) that operators or crew maintain a log 20 recording the actions described in subpara- 21 graphs (B) and (C). 22 (3) TRAINING.—Requirement for annual train- 23 ing for operators and crew of amphibious passengers 24 vessels, including— 25 6 † S 1031 ES (A) training for personal flotation and seat 1 belt requirements, verifying the integrity of the 2 vessel at the onset of each waterborne depar- 3 ture, identification of weather hazards, and use 4 of National Weather Service resources prior to 5 operation; and 6 (B) training for crewmembers to respond 7 to emergency situations, including flooding, en- 8 gine compartment fires, man overboard situa- 9 tions, and in water emergency egress proce- 10 dures. 11 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS FROM REPORTS.—Re- 12 quirements to address recommendations from the 13 following reports, as practicable and to the extent 14 that such recommendations are under the jurisdic- 15 tion of the Coast Guard: 16 (A) The National Transportation Safety 17 Board’s Safety Recommendation Reports on the 18 Amphibious Passenger Vessel incidents in Table 19 Rock, Missouri, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Se- 20 attle, Washington. 21 (B) The Coast Guard’s Marine Investiga- 22 tion Board reports on the Stretch Duck 7 23 sinkings at Table Rock, Missouri, and the Miss 24 Majestic sinking near Hot Springs, Arkansas. 25 7 † S 1031 ES (5) INTERIM REQUIREMENTS.—The interim re- 1 quirements described in subsection (a)(2), as appro- 2 priate. 3 (c) PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF NONCOMPLIANT 4 VESSELS.—Commencing as of the date specified by the 5 Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 6 operating pursuant to subsection (d), any amphibious pas- 7 senger vessel whose configuration or operation does not 8 comply with the requirements under subsection (a)(2) (or 9 subsection (a)(1), if prescribed) may not operate in waters 10 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as defined 11 in section 2.38 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations 12 (or a successor regulation). 13 (d) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.—The regulations 14 and interim requirements described in subsections (a) and 15 (b) shall require compliance with the requirements in the 16 regulations not later than 2 years after the date of the 17 enactment of this Act, as the Secretary of the department 18 in which the Coast Guard is operating may specify in the 19 regulations. 20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the pro- 21 mulgation of the regulations required under subsection 22 (a), the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall provide 23 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 24 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 25 8 † S 1031 ES Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives regarding the status of the implementation of 2 the requirements included in such regulations. 3 Passed the Senate December 10, 2020. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1031 AN ACT To implement recommendations related to the safe- ty of amphibious passenger vessels, and for other purposes.