Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation for more federal regulations of duck boats, like the amphibious vehicle that sank last summer on Table Rock Lake.
Seventeen people, including nine members of one family, died when a duck boat went down in a severe storm on July 19, 2018.
"These are recommendations that safety experts have recommended for literally years," Hawley said. "It is time to get them into law and take a step towards preventing the kind of tragedies that we saw in Branson last year."
The Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2019 would authorize National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, including provisions to require the use of life jackets and equipping all operating duck boats to be more buoyant in the event of emergency flooding.The legislation would also require the removal of canopies that can block escape routes for passengers. Duck boat operators would also be required to restrict weather conditions in which they could go onto the water.
Kenneth Scott McKee, the captain of the duck boat that sank on Table Rock Lake, is scheduled to go on trial in federal court in June. A grand jury indicted McKee on 17 counts misconduct, negligence, or inatttention to duty by a ship's officer.
Investigators found that wind speeds were more than double the maximums for safe operation of the boat.