Boston Duck Boat Safety

“Are duck boats safe?”  

This is typically the first question I get asked when people find out I work for Boston Duck Tours.  Actually, it might be the third question right behind, “Do you get to drive in the Patriots Championship Parades?” and “Did you get to meet Tom Brady?”  But recently more than ever duck boat safety is on everyone’s mind.  

At Boston Duck Tours the safety of our guests, our employees and everyone else who sees us driving around the streets of Boston and Cambridge is our number 1 priority.  

Because we depart from two locations in Boston, the New England Aquarium and the Prudential Center Boston and from one location in Cambridge at the Museum of Science we are actually the most regulated and inspected tour company in New England.  

Staying Safe on Land

In order to safely and legally operate on the streets of Boston and Cambridge, Boston Duck Tours is inspected and licensed annually by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and the Boston Police Hackney Unit.  We also meet or exceed all the requirements set forth by the US Department of Transportation.  

All of our drivers hold at least a Class B, Passenger Rated, Commercial Driver’s License and must pass both an internal Boston Duck Tours background and driver record check as well as well as get licensed by the Boston Police Hackney Unit and the Cambridge Jitney Division. 

Now let’s talk about the DUCK’s themselves. Our Ducks are not WWII DUKWs. Our fleet of 28 is comprised of what are known as “Truck Ducks”, which are based off a much larger and stronger chassis. They are purpose-built for tourism and are not a converted surplus vehicle. Our oldest Truck Duck was built in 2006 and the newest was built in 2014. They share no parts with a WWII DUKW and are a “Duck” in name only.

We employ a team of over 20 mechanics, detailers and managers to oversee the maintenance of our fleet.  Everyday, before carrying passengers each Duck is inspected twice by our maintenance staff and once by our drivers who perform a required Department of Transportation Safety Check. But at Boston Duck Tours we don’t just rely on the regulators tell us how to be safe.  We are constantly improving our Ducks and adding safety features. For instance, every Boston Duck Tours vehicle has a 360-degree camera monitoring system as well as 9 mirrors for better driver visibility. We have also installed proximity sensors around the Ducks to alert the driver of pedestrians or vehicles that are too close. 

Staying Safe on Water

On the water we are regulated by the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has been part of our business since before the first day BDT began operating.  The US Coast Guard is not just our regulator though, we consider them our partner in safety.  

The Coast Guard approves the construction and stability of our vehicles and everyone of our 28 Ducks was purpose-built for tourism and inspected and certified during construction.  Our Ducks are not WWII DUKWs. Our fleet is comprised of what are known as “Truck Ducks”, which are based off a much larger and stronger chassis. The hulls are all brand-new construction and were designed for much greater stability on the water, and much greater safety. The hulls themselves are heavier gage than a WWII Duck and all the old corrosion and stress points have been eliminated. Our oldest Truck Duck was built in 2006 and the newest was built in 2014. They share no parts with a WWII DUKW and are a “Duck” in name only.

The USCG not only regulates construction but they also set our manning requirement, inspect our emergency equipment and dictate our captain and crew training qualifications.  Every one of the over 500,000 tours that BDT has operated since the company was founded in 1994 has been driven by a US Coast Guard Licensed Captain.  

The Coast Guard also inspects each and every Duck annually before we start each season.  All of our emergency equipment is tested and each captain and crew member is required to successfully perform emergency drills in their presence.   These drills include man overboard, fire, flooding and abandon ship. Finally, the USCG sets and reviews our operating parameters. Boston Duck Tours is licensed to operate on the Charles River no more than 1000 feet from shore, for not more than 30 minutes at a time and only when winds are less than 25 knots and waves are less than 1 foot.  Luckily for us the Charles River is a very shallow and calm body of water making it the ideal place Ducks to splash in. In order to provide our guests with more information about the safety of our vehicles we have created a video detailing all of our safety features.

So Back to the original question, “are duck boats safe?”  Well I can only speak for Boston Duck Tours, and my personal experience.  Safety is the foundation of our culture and if we were not taking safety seriously every day I would not be working at Boston Duck Tours and Boston Duck Tours would not be celebrating their 25^th Anniversary of being in business.  So, if you don’t want to take my word for it maybe you can trust the over 12 million guests that we have carried on over 500,000 tours since 1994.  Or you can look to the numerous Tourism Awards that Boston Duck Tours has won including Tripadvisor, “2018 Top 10 Experiences in the US”, Boston Parents Paper, “Family Favorite”, and National Geographic, “Boston Must Do”  We currently have a 4.5 out of 5 rating on Tripadvisor with over 4000 “Excellent” reviews.  

About Bob Lawler

Bob Lawler is the General Manager at Boston Duck Tours and has over 25 years experience in the hospitality, tourism industry and is the 2019 President of the Passenger Vessel Association.