Dive Boat Captain Guilty Of Manslaughter

A federal jury convicted a scuba dive boat captain November 6 of criminal negligence in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard his vessel in 2019.

The 75-foot-long wood and fiberglass dive boat Conception went down in flames September 2, 2019, near an island off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., from a fire of unknown origin. All 33 passengers and a crew member who were trapped in a bunk room below deck died. Five crewmembers survived, including Capt. Jerry Nehl Boylan, who was the first to jump overboard and was the only person charged. It was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history and led to changes in maritime regulations, congressional reforms, and multiple ongoing civil lawsuits. The FBI, Coast Guard Investigative Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all took part in the investigation. The fire’s cause remained undetermined.

Boylan, 69, was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer following a 10-day trial in federal court in downtown Los Angeles. The jury found that Boylan failed to ensure the safety and security of the vessel, its passengers and its crew. He failed to have a night watch or roving patrol; failed to conduct sufficient fire drills and crew training; and failed to provide firefighting instructions or directions to crewmembers after the fire started, along with neglecting several other duties, the jury found.

Boylan is due to be sentenced February 8 and could face up to 10 years in prison.

The charge is based on a pre-Civil War statute known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.

The trial came after a judge threw out an earlier indictment because it failed to state that the captain acted with gross negligence, a required element in any indictment for seaman’s manslaughter, the judge said.