Earlier this month we wrote about the guilty plea to the maritime offense of misconduct of a ship operator causing death entered by the pilot of a tug boat. The two deaths occurred when he pushed a barge into a duck boat on the Delaware River. At the time, the duck boat was anchored in a busy shipping channel due to the belief there was a fire on board. Now, as a result of the fatal accident, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending the business that ran the duck boat involved in the crash take a look at its procedures.

While the pilot of the tug boat clearly failed to follow proper procedures, the NTSB determined there were some errors on the part of the duck boat master as well. In addition to not informing the Coast Guard of the engine trouble, he also did not instruct the occupants of the duck boat that they needed to put on life jackets. It was also found that a mate on the duck boat who was supposed to serve as a lookout was using his cell phone and texting.

The NTSB felt the safety culture at the company operating the duck boats was not effective. Accordingly, as a part of its recommendations the NTSB is asking the company to go through the current safety program they have and update it as necessary. It also requested that all employees follow those procedures. The president of the company indicated earlier this summer that it would review the NTSB report and implement any changes deemed necessary.

Source: The Inquirer, "Federal officials recommend a safety review for Ride the Ducks," Troy Graham, Aug. 30, 2011