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It may be a dead duck in Seattle, but its now-bankrupt amphibious boat tour attraction has inspired local harbor officials to consider something similar.

Crescent City Harbormaster Charlie Helms told commissioners Tuesday that the James G. Murphy Auction Company is selling off vessels, engines and other spare parts belonging to Ride the Ducks Seattle.

If they think an amphibious boat tour has potential, Helms told commissioners they may be better off purchasing a newer vessel especially since the Seattle duck boats being auctioned are old. The newest one available is a 1980 model, he said.

“One of their vessels hit the (Aurora) Bridge. There were casualties,” Helms said. “That, coupled with the end of tourism because of COVID-19 just made them decide to drop out. I thought this would be a good time to bring it up.”

Ride the Ducks Seattle filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April after it had closed in March, The Seattle Times reported. In 2015, one of its tour vehicles careened into a charter bus on the Aurora Bridge, killing four people and critically injuring eight.

The attraction never recovered financially from that collision, according to The Seattle Times.

Though he used the Ride the Ducks Seattle boats as an example, Helms suggested the harbor district explore the option of purchasing a similar vehicle. There is a trolley boat manufacturer based in Florida, he said. Helms also suggested commissioners take a look at vessels crafted by Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International based out of South Carolina.

“They’re a boat that happens to have some wheels under it and they’re designed not to capsize,” he said of the newer crafts. “You walk in on land and get on it. They drive down the launch ramp and then you’re running around in the water.”

The Crescent City Harbor District agreed to form an ad-hoc committee with commissioners Wes White and Rick Shepherd to look at the feasibility of purchasing an amphibious vessel as a potential tourist attraction.

One potential drawback, however, is Markel Insurance, which insurers several of the Harbor District’s assets, doesn’t underwrite duck tour vehicles, said Bill Cochran, owner of Redwoods-Leavitt Insurance, who acts as a consultant with the port.

Cochran said his partner broker found another company that has insured duck tour vehicles, but indicated that they aren’t taking future clients.

“Your discussion of them hitting the bridge, and then you have the really bad tragedy back in Missouri,” Cochran said, referring to a 2018 incident where a Ride the Ducks vehicle capsized and sank near Branson, Missouri. “Everybody is absolutely freaked out about it right now. We’ve gone to five different marine markets and not one of them told us they’ve got a market for it yet.”

When deciding whether to insure a new amphibious vehicle, Cochran said a broker would want to know how it is different from the old duck boats. An insurance provider could say that it’s just a newer version of the same duck boat with the same flaws, he said.

Helms, speaking to the Florida-based trolley boat manufacturer and CAMI from South Carolina, said both businesses state they build a safe boat and have referred to the trouble with the old duck boats. He said he would speak with the owners and get information about their prices.

"They don't have the inherent difficulty the ducks have," Helms said of the new boats. "They're a boat that has wheels under it, but they're designed not to capsize, they're designed to float. And we're not taking them under any bridges. They're new vessels and they meet Coast Guard standards."

Shepherd, who’s a commercial fisherman, said a charter boat might be as much of a tourist draw as an amphibious vessel. Finding a skipper for such a vehicle could also be difficult, he said.

“I just think it would be a lot of maintenance,” Shepherd said. “If you got a charter boat, you could do a charter a day and a tour about a day and whale watching and all that, whereas with these boats, I think we’re pretty limited on where they can go.”

Cochran said he would reach out to the firms that are selling the newer amphibious vehicles to find out what their costs are and to determine what it’s like to insure them.

In other matters, Helms said the Harbor District’s legal counsel, Bob Black, had followed up on a public records act request from Richard Marks, northern regional compliance manager with the Construction Industry Force Account Council.

Marks had asked why the Crescent City Harbor District hadn’t filed a public works projects registration for its solar project, Helms told commissioners. After researching Marks’ question, Black informed him the limited liability company spearheading the project was acting in its own interest not on behalf of the Harbor District, according to Helms.

Helms said he and Pucci Foods CEO Chris Lam met with Crescent City Manager Eric Wier and Public Works Director Jon Olson on June 29. Wier and Olson expressed support for Pucci Foods’ proposed seafood processing plant and the 20 jobs it could bring to Crescent City, according to Helms.

Helms said Wier will reach out to the City of Hayward to learn about the relationship it has with Pucci Foods. Wier also suggested Helms reach out to Chuck Wolfe, of Claggett Wolfe Associates to see if the seafood processing plant could qualify for Community Development Block Grant economic development dollars, according to Helms.

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