On July 19th, 2018, a duck boat capsized and sank in high winds during a storm on Table Rock Lake, near Branson, MO. Seventeen passengers and crew lost their lives. Now, a federal grand jury has charged the captain of the duck boat, Kenneth Scott McKee, with 17 counts of seaman’s manslaughter in the deaths.  

The Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute makes it a crime if anyone dies on a ship or boat in US jurisdiction due to the misconduct or negligence of the officers, crew, or anyone else involved with the vessel.  Conviction under the statute includes a fine and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years.

The Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute dates back to the early 1800s when steamboat accidents and fatalities were skyrocketing. In 1838, Congress passed legislation mandating that captains and crew could be held criminally liable if anyone on board died as a result of their misconduct, negligence or inattention to duties.

CNN reports that a federal grand jury found that McKee failed to properly assess incoming weather before and while he put the vessel in the water, entered the vessel on the water as severe weather approached, failed to instruct passengers to put on personal flotation devices and operated the duck boat in violation of its conditions and limitations, among other acts, according to the indictment.

As we posted last August, the duck boat was inspected by the US Coast Guard as a Small Passenger Vessel, under Subchapter T of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Certificate of Inspection for the duck boat required that “Vessel shall not be operated waterborne when winds exceed thirty-five (35) miles per hour, and/or the wave height exceeds two (2) feet.”  

Prior to the departure of the duck boat on the day of the sinking, severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Table Rock Lake. A severe thunderstorm is defined as a thunderstorm with winds equal or exceeding 58 miles an hour.  The National Transportation Safety Board has said the wind speed at the time of the accident was more than 70 mph, or exactly twice the maximum allowed wind speed allowed by the COI.  

Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.