A federal judge has sentenced the captain of the dive boat Conception that caught fire and sank off Southern California in 2019, killing all 33 passengers who were sleeping on a lower deck and one crewmember, to four years in prison.
The captain, Jerry Nehl Boylan, 69, of Santa Barbara, was convicted by a federal court jury in November of “seaman’s manslaughter.” It said he was guilty of “misconduct, gross negligence and inattention to his duties.” The charge carried a sentence of up to ten years in federal prison.
The 75-foot dive boat caught fire at 3 a.m. on Labor Day weekend while it was anchored in Platt’s Harbor off Santa Cruz Island. Five crew, including Boylan, jumped into the water to escape the fast-moving fire that burned the boat to the waterline and ultimately sank. The five had been on an upper deck at the time.
In a ten-day trail, the jury said Boylan had failed his duties as captain by not setting a night watch, by not training the crew in fighting a fire, by not performing any lifesaving or firefighting activities, and by abandoning the ship while the passengers were still trapped below deck.
His lawyers blamed the ship’s owner and operator, Truth Aquatics, Inc., for not requiring night patrols or fire training. They said that Boylan had broadcast a distress call before jumping overboard to save his life.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued a report saying that Truth Aquatics had failed to provide oversight of the boat and the crew. It said that the absence of smoke detection devices in all accommodation spaces and inadequate emergency escape routes contributed to the tragedy.
See the Coast Guard’s video of the fire here:
