Originally published August 21, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified August 21, 2007 at 6:48 PM
Final voyage for historic Mississippi riverboat?
The Delta Queen, a wooden paddle-wheeler that's carried three presidents and a princess on the Mississippi River, will make her final overnight...
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Delta Queen, a wooden paddle-wheeler that's carried three presidents and a princess on the Mississippi River, will make her final overnight cruise next year unless the federal government extends her exemption from modern fire codes.
The U.S. House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has declined to extend the 10-year exemption, citing fears that the ship, which was built in 1926, could become a fire hazard.
"I can't imagine the number of lives that could be lost if a fire started on the Delta Queen when everyone is asleep," said Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the committee.
Under the terms of the 1960 Safety of Lives at Sea Act, ships with more than 50 staterooms must be constructed of inflammable materials.
The Delta Queen, owned by Seattle-based Majestic America Line, accommodates 176 passengers on cruises that include the Mississippi, Ohio and Arkansas rivers. The ship's owners have sought exemption from the rules but this year failed to win one when the congressional committee passed its version of the U.S. Coast Guard Reauthorization Act.
Coast Guard spokesman Angela Hirsch said the maritime safety agency has long been "concerned about the safety implications of a wooden vessel."
Majestic America said it is planning "a proper and well-deserved send-off" for next year's last cruises. The company also operates The Mississippi Queen and the American Queen.
An official history of the Delta Queen says she has carried Presidents Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter and Princess Margaret of Britain. Its famous calliope was salvaged from a sunken showboat.
The Delta Queen was en route from Memphis to Little Rock on a seven-day cruise on Monday. Its final voyage, unless things change, will be an Oct. 31, 2008, trip to New Orleans.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Fewer fliers expected over holidays
NEW - 07:42 AM
Hawaii hotel occupancy rate finally rises after 18 months
U.S. airlines boost on-time arrivals
Covert TSA officers keep watch at airports
Holiday airfares keep climbing

Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Ken Auletta talks about Google with Brier Dudley at the Seattle Central Library.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect
- Prosecutors consider charges against suspect in police shooting
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Steve Kelley | Hasselbeck gives Seahawks' sagging season a stay of execution
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Lt. governor's son shot by co-worker in Kent; gunman then shot self
- Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge
- Bill Clinton meets with Senate Dems on health care
- Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
261 - House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate
261 - Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
197 - Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
144 - Alleged shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers
141 - Resolute Fort Hood soldiers ready for return
125 - McGinn more than doubles his lead over Mallahan
120 - King County OKs 'don't ask' law on immigration
94 - Josh Smith picks UCLA
78 - 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
73
- For 80-year-old Maple Valley man, hoops aren't just a dream
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Silver Lake restaurant destroyed by fire
- Pakistani-American cafe, bar owner on verge of being Granite Falls mayor
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
- All You Can Eat | Fruit flies: thrill to the kill
- Taste | Ruth Reichl still reigns as queen of America's culinary scene
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect





