National Trust for Historic Preservation: Return to home page

Success! The decade-long legislative effort to help return the Delta Queen to America's waterways culminated on December 4 when President Donald Trump signed into law a measure that renews the vessel's exemption from the 1966 Safety at Sea Act.

The act enables the Delta Queen to return to overnight cruise service through 2028 after repairs to the 91-year-old steamboat are complete.

Great news! On November 27, the House of Representatives passed the Coast Guard Authorization bill (S. 140) which includes provisions that enable the historic Delta Queen steamboat to return to operation as an overnight passenger vessel. The bill will now head to the president’s desk for signature.

This day was years in the making, as the National Trust for Historic Preservation has long worked closely with lawmakers and advocates nationwide to build support for the last remaining sternwheel steamboat—a proud symbol of American commerce and transportation.

For years, the Delta Queen has been hampered by regulations that prevented her from carrying more than 50 overnight passengers. Sailing with a full complement of passengers is essential to the owner’s business model and ability to attract investors to secure her financial future. As National Trust president Stephanie Meeks said in a statement issued shortly after the House vote:

“We are confident that she can again safely provide a unique and enriching overnight experience for current and future generations, while bringing new energy and revenue to the ports she visits along the way. We urge the president to sign this legislation, to set this historic steamship on a new journey, and keep the last vestige of a proud chapter in our American maritime history alive.”

The Delta Queen is currently in storage on Houma, Louisiana. We will keep you posted on efforts to return this American icon to her former glory.

On Monday, April 3^rd, by a vote of 85-12, the United States Senate passed legislation which could grant the historic Delta Queen a return to cruising America’s inland waterways. On January 10^th, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill introduced Senate Bill 89, legislation renewing the Delta Queen’s Congressional exemption from the Safety of Life at Sea Act (SOLAS, Public Law 89-777), a measure which restricts vessels with a wooden superstructure from providing overnight passenger service to more than 50 passengers. Co-sponsored by Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, S. 89 requires that the vessel’s “combustible materials” be reduced annually by 10% and replaced with non-flammable materials.

Constructed in 1926, the Delta Queen is a National Historic Landmark and the nation’s oldest passenger steamboat that speaks to our nation’s 200 year tradition of cargo and passenger steamboat transportation. The National Trust believes that return of the Delta Queen to overnight passenger cruising will help ensure the long term protection of what can only be described as the last vestige of a uniquely American maritime past. As such, the National Trust fully endorses the passage of S. 89 and requests the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee consider companion legislation, HR 619.