(KTTS News) — Today marks five years since a Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake near Branson, killing 17 people.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is urging the Coast Guard to implement new safety standards that were signed into law in 2022.

The Coast Guard was supposed to start enforcing those new standards within six months.

But that deadline has now passed.

Hawley introduced the Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act in 2019.

It was later reintroduced in the House and Senate and signed into law as part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan calling for the law requiring new safety standards for DUKW amphibious vehicles, also known as “duck boats,” to be properly implemented. New standards are intended to help prevent future tragedies following the 2018 accident on Table Rock Lake that claimed the lives of 17 people.

“When I joined the Senate, one of the first bills I introduced was the Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2020. This legislation aimed to prevent similar accidents in the future by requiring amphibious vehicles meet minimum buoyancy requirements, weather preparedness standards, and new canopy regulations,” wrote Senator Hawley. “It is critically important that we ensure the safety of all passengers and prevent future accidents.”

Senator Hawley introduced his Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act originally in 2019, and through a series of reintroductions it passed the House and Senate. The new standards were signed into law as part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. That law gave the Coast Guard six months to take action on implementing the additional safety standards—a deadline that has now passed.

Read the full letter here or below.