Does anyone know how long this exemption is good for?

The exemption is valid for the same period of time that the Coast Guard Authorization Bill is effective-generally one year. This would place her under the same conditions which she previously operated under. Prior to her "retirement", she was subject to annual inspection and required the exemption to be renewed annually.

The reason for this is solely that the superstructure of the boat (as has been previously mentioned) is wood. Claims that she should be exempted permanently because she is a coastal/inland river vessel are totally unsubstantiated. Historical fact demonstrates that fires aboard coastal or river vessels can be just as deadly as fires aboard a seagoing vessel if the superstructure is wood. The prime example of this is the General Slocumb, a tourist vessel, which burned in New York harbor. That vessel became a flaming funeral pyre within minutes of a fire starting in a paint locker or rope locker and was less than a hundred yards off the shore.

That fact being considered, the requirement that the exemption be renewed annually is indeed appropriate to ensure that the DQ is maintained to the highest standard of fire safety.

Yes, a very tragic event. This occurred June 15, 1904 and the reported loss of life is variously stated as being around 1,000.

Reported that the captain and owners had not conducted any tests of the fire hoses, etc. It is said that the fire hoses were rotted and failed as soon as water was turned on. The canvas and cork life preservers - reported to be from 1891 - were also reported to be rotted. Many other failings of maintenance, actions and reactions.

The Delta Queen has been painted with fire resistant paint for several decades. Reportedly a paint developed for NASA.

I love how folks bring up the General Slocumb and other ancient steamboat disasters, that have almost no bearing on the Delta Queen's operation or construction. The DQ has a modern sprinkler system throughout the vessel, and a military grade heat/fire sensor system. Fire Drills are done on every sailing, and the crew is trained and tested annually on fire fighting, evacuation operations as well as other safety requirements-as required by the coast guard. I think you will find the exemption is likely for 10 years, not one year.
Safety on board the Delta Queen is not an issue by those who know and those who inspect her.
Judging by the recent (and nearby for me) Paradise fire, I am safer on board the DQ than I am in my own home.

Also equipped with heat detectors, smoke detectors, sprinklers, and a patrolling watchman all night. I have often thought that a Super 8 or equivalent motel with only a half asleep desk clerk keeping watch is a bigger fire trap than the DQ.

Also note (as I understand it) that like the General Slocumb, wooden daytime tourist boats are still allowed under Coast Guard regulations. Only overnight wooden boats sleeping over fifty passengers (of which the DQ is the only one) are outlawed.

According to the information that has been released, this exemption is valid for fifteen years. However, there are certain benchmarks that must be met annually. Most notable is the requirement that the boilers be enclosed in fire resistant chambers by 2028 to address engine room safety concerns.

Thanks, that's more like it. Good for them!

Just came across a couple of vintage films of the Delta Queen, both of which date to when her future was in doubt in the 1960s and 1970s.

Both are interesting in that they show things like engine room shots you wouldn't get from a typical cruise ship company--but then, a modern cruise ship doesn't have those hypnotic reciprocating steam engines!

One thing that stood out was the passengers on the Delta Queen all looked o-l-d in 1967--but my memories of the boat when I got to see it in Wheeling, W.Va. in the 1970s, and in the promotional film from about that time, is that the crowd started looking younger, certainly among the people who came to visit the boat. Of course, by that time the boat was much more of a celebrity than it had been not too many years earlier.

The promotional film from the 1970s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtyqyDHDTEM

And what the narrator in this one said was to be her last voyage in 1967:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXQI7Po0DXc