Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 24 July 2018

Duck boat probe will check if Coast Guard rules were ignored

By JIM SALTER and HEATHER the design of duck boats
HOLLINGSWORTH makes them prone to the
Associated Press type of accident that oc-
The investigation into the curred in Missouri, particu-
sinking of a sightseeing larly when weather turns
boat that claimed 17 lives bad. He said they should
will look at whether opera- be banned.
tors violated Coast Guard At a news conference
rules by venturing onto a Monday in Branson, Coast
Missouri lake as thunder- Guard Capt. Scott Sto-
storms rolled in, a Coast ermer said the investigation
Guard official said Mon- will also look into whether
day. the boat captain followed
More than three days af- company guidelines re-
ter the deadly accident, a garding use of life jackets.
crane attached to a barge Missouri law requires boat
pulled the amphibious passengers ages 7 and
duck boat from Table Rock younger to wear life jack-
Lake near Branson, where it ets, but commercial ves-
was submerged in 80 feet sels like the duck boats are
(24 meters) of water. exempt. The law requires
Divers attached a sling to The duck boat that sank in Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo., is raised Monday, July 23, 2018. enough life jackets for pas-
the 33-foot, 4-ton vessel, Associated Press sengers and crew, and
then raised and drained jackets that fit all of the
it, officials said. It was to storm came up suddenly conditions." A January 2016 inspection children. Whether to advise
be loaded onto a vehicle Thursday evening. Sadow- "The change of the tide found inoperable heat de- passengers to use life jack-
and turned over to the Na- icz said investigators want from slack to flood and tectors, which were later ets is an "operation deci-
tional Transportation Safety to find out if operators were the strong northerly winds fixed. sion" made by the captain,
Board. adequately monitoring the caused the waves to quick- The Coast Guard prohib- Stoermer said.
Coast Guard Lt. Tasha Sa- weather and should have ly build and exceeded the ited the vessel from oper- Several survivors made it to
dowicz of the agency's St. reasonably known a storm restriction on the vessel's ating from January 2015 to safety by climbing aboard
Louis office said the boat was approaching. COI (certificate of inspec- April 2015, but the report another sightseeing boat
that capsized and sank Turbulent weather has tion)," the Coast Guard re- does not state a reason that was nearby.
was known as "Stretch Duck caused trouble for duck port stated. other than "hazardous/un- Many survivors told Mis-
07." Like all 22 duck boats in boats before. Duck boats were designed safe condition." Another re- souri State Highway Patrol
operation in Branson, it was Coast Guard records show for military use in World War port from February 2015 cit- chaplain Steve Martin that
required to undergo an- that a similar duck boat in II. The Missouri boat that ed leakage in a wheel well they were able to swim to
nual inspections. The most Philadelphia took on a 3- sank was built in 1944. caused by sealant failure. the Branson Belle paddle-
recent was in February. or 4-foot wave on Oct. 3, Stretch Duck 07 had a few The owner of an inspection wheeler. Some climbed
But Sadowicz said the 2015, as it carried 12 pas- apparently minor problems service in the St. Louis area up the paddle wheel itself.
Coast Guard's "certificate sengers on a tour of the in recent years. said he issued a written re- Others clung to the side of
of inspection" placed lim- Delaware River. Water got In 2011, the vessel "lost port in August 2017 to the the boat until bystanders
its on when the boats can into the engine compart- steering while underway on Branson duck boat opera- pulled them to safety.
enter the water based on ment, causing the engine Table Rock Lake" with 30 tor, Ripley Entertainment, "The waves were kind of
wind speed and "sea state," to stall and setting the ves- passengers on board. The after inspecting two dozen pushing them toward the
which refers to the height sel adrift. driver was able to make it boats. In the report, Steve boat," Martin said.
of waves. The boat was safely towed back to shore, according Paul of Test Drive Technolo- Ripley Entertainment's web-
Sadowicz did not have in- to shore. The cause of the to Coast Guard records. gies explained that the ves- site said it was offering to
formation on Stretch Duck failure was determined to On June 6, 2015, water sels' engines — and pumps pay for all medical and fu-
07's limits but said they will be "the rapidly worsening got into the engine com- that remove water from neral expenses for victims,
be a focal point of the in- river conditions." But the partment as the boat en- their hulls — might fail in in- to return all personal items
vestigation. Coast Guard also cited a tered the lake from land, clement weather. from the accident scene
Some witnesses have said "failure to anticipate the a process known as "splash On Saturday, former NTSB and to help with families'
the lake was calm and the change in the weather down." chairman James Hall said travel or accommodations.