Law may put end to era of Delta Queen

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Passengers aboard the Delta Queen enjoyed a view of the Mississippi River and the Cape Girardeau riverfront while the paddlewheeler was docked here Nov. 2, 2006. [Click to enlarge]

If the Mississippi River had been at normal stages Saturday, the Cape Girardeau riverfront would have resounded with calliope music and downtown shops would have welcomed visitors from the steamboat Delta Queen.

The Delta Queen is scheduled to stop in Cape Girardeau two more times this year, but they could be the last times the anachronistic vessel graces the city. Unless Congress grants the boat another exemption to a 42-year-old law, it will have to find a permanent home and stop cruising the Mississippi and its tributaries.

The Delta Queen's next Cape Girardeau stop is set for Aug. 14. It has another scheduled stop here Oct. 28, just three days before the current exemption expires. The boat's current owner, the Majestic America Line, has organized a "Save the Delta Queen" campaign that includes events at cities along the routes.

"We are paying tribute to all the communities the Delta Queen visits during the 2008 season," said Vanessa Bloy, director of public relations for the company.

"We want to make sure we thank the communities, and hope we can rally support for the exemption."

That law, banning overnight excursion boats made of wood, was designed to protect oceangoing passengers, supporters of the boat argue. But attempts to pass an extension have foundered on opposition that cites Coast Guard concerns about safety.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, has joined with lawmakers from districts along the rivers to support the extension. "The Delta Queen is a historic vessel that ought to be allowed to operate on the river as it always has," Emerson said. "There is no question the Delta Queen complies with any reasonable expectation for safety. More importantly, however, folks in Southern Missouri and up and down the Mississippi River look forward to the Delta Queen's stops."

The Delta Queen isn't the only excursion boat that stops in Cape Girardeau. The Mississippi Queen and the American Queen, operated like the Delta Queen by the Majestic America Line, also offer travelers the experience of cruising on a vessel that recalls the heyday of steamboating. And RiverBarge Excursion Lines Inc. operates the River Explorer, which also makes scheduled stops in Cape Girardeau for passengers to shop and dine downtown.

Those other vessels, however, are modern construction. Only the Delta Queen offers a boat built during a time when steam was the preferred power source for river traffic.

High water on the Mississippi this year has deprived downtown business owners of the boost disembarked passengers bring. A cruise on any of the boats that regularly stop at Cape Girardeau costs between $2,000 and $6,000, which means they bring affluent tourists with disposable income.

The riverboat stops provide an opportunity not only for immediate sales but also a chance to market the city, said Chuck Martin, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Missing those visits means lost income now and the loss of future potential income, Martin said. "More than once we have had people in our center [who] said they have had such a pleasant time that they are going to come back," he said. "This is one segment of what we rely on to make the community move forward as a tourism destination."

Owners of antique shops and art galleries downtown said they have missed the boats this year. Deb Maevers, who operates Pastimes Antiques, said she makes sure to open early and make passengers feel welcome with lemonade and iced tea and signs targeting them.

Passengers have made purchases both large and small, she said, adding that she has shipped items all over the country. Maevers has 63 vendors in her store and notes that most of the other antique shops downtown operate with numerous vendors as well, so the potential effect is much larger than just an individual business owner.

"We definitely will miss them saleswise," she said. "We always miss them."

At S. Gregg Gallery on Main Street, owner Steve Gregg said he's had boat passengers walk in and purchase artwork to be shipped home. "I've had instances where I sold $2,000 pieces and shipped them out," he said.

And while Gregg notes he doesn't always make a big sale when a boat is docked, "you always know you have lost the potential if they don't stop."

The prospects for passing an exemption don't appear to be good. A bill containing only the exemption is bottled up in committee. And attempts to add the exemption as a floor amendment to the Coast Guard reauthorization bill failed, as did an effort to send it back to the House Transportation Committee, said Jeff Connor, spokesman for Emerson.

Some critics have argued that the committee chairmen, Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota and Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, are punishing Majestic America for making its three boats non-union when it purchased them in 2006.

That is false, representatives of the committees said.

Mary Kerr, a spokeswoman for the House committee, said the exemption was not renewed because "the Coast Guard views that vessel as a fire hazard."

And a spokeswoman for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, who asked not to be identified, said the exemption was left out of the Senate bill in part because no member of the committee asked for it to be included.

Supporters of the boat said the safety concerns don't take into account that the Delta Queen is always within a mile of land, is equipped with numerous inflatable lifeboats and can put passengers ashore almost anywhere along its route.

"I am very frustrated that Congress has been to this point unable to resolve the legislative impasse that has resulted in a disappointment for everyone who is excited to see the Delta Queen traveling the river at this time each year," Emerson said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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