Improved business brings unexpected challenges

Passenger vessel operators nationwide have experienced outstanding business conditions. In most markets, travel and tourism related activity has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. This is great news for those of us who operate U.S.-flagged passenger vessels, and we appreciate the much-improved business climate.  However, this continuing business success brings larger passenger numbers and some unwanted challenges. 

Rail Jumping is one such problem. As an example, my company, BB Riverboats, recently hosted a party for a school group aboard the Belle of Cincinnati. While underway, one of the students at the party, in a move to show off to his friends, jumped over the rail into the river and swam to shore. Even though the student was lucky enough to survive, he put our passengers and crew in danger by causing us to take evasive action and to initiate a search. In addition, the Coast Guard was immediately notified along with the local fire department and law enforcement. 

In another such instance several years ago, I had a jumper while we were underway in the middle of the Ohio River near the Cincinnati bridges. The water temperature was 54°F and the river was flowing three miles per hour. There were three towboats and two excursion vessels close by. We launched our rescue boat and my crew was able to save his life. Clearly, this was a dangerous situation for all involved.  

At BB Riverboats, we take safety seriously, and we work hard to ensure that our safety and risk management program and practices are second-to-none. We plan, practice, and drill for many different emergencies, including man overboard. But no matter how prepared we are, I always get a shudder when I hear on our internal radio, “We have a jumper.”

In the late 1990s, at the urging of the Passenger Vessel Association, Congress passed legislation permitting the Coast Guard to charge rail jumpers with a violation of federal law and allowing them to assess a civil fine.

I take some comfort in knowing that the Coast Guard can discourage rail jumping through enforcement efforts. But we all must do a better job of discouraging passengers from jumping overboard whether on a dare, to show off, or for some other unknown reason. This begins with communicating the dangers associated with this unsafe practice and the potential for being arrested and fined, if they survive.