Majestic America Line, the company which owns the Mississippi River paddlewheeler Delta Queen has cancelled all cruises for the 2009 season. The company has been up for sale for the last year, with no buyers.
The Delta Queen is the last steam paddlewheel passenger boat on the Mississippi River, a living relic built in 1927. It has been cruising the Mississippi since 1948. The wooden ship has received repeated exemptions to the 1965 Safety of Life At Sea convention to allow it to continue sailing inland rivers. But in 2008 Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota blocked the exemption due the 2006 sale of the boat to owners who hired non-union workers.
Will Congress be persuaded to allow the Delta Queen to keep sailing?