Many of you have read my previous posts regarding the dive boat tragedy that occurred the coast of Santa Barbara on September 2, 2019.
Following a 10-day trial, a federal jury last week, on November 6, 2023, four years after the incident, found scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent US history.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Jerry Boylan, 69, of Santa Barbara, was found guilty on November 6 of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officers — an offense known as “seaman’s manslaughter.”
Per the release, the crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
“This ship captain’s unpardonable cowardice led to the deaths of 34 lives on Labor Day 2019,” said attorney Martin Estrada. “As the jury found, this tragedy could have been avoided had Mr. Boylan simply performed the duties he was entrusted to carry out. We hope that today’s verdict brings some solace and closure to the victims’ loved ones.”
The US attorney’s office said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75ft boat.
District Judge George H. Wu scheduled sentencing for Feb. 8. Boylan remains free on a $75,000 bond.
The Conception was anchored off the Channel Islands, 25 miles (40km) south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion.
Thirty-three passengers and a crew member perished, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. Among the dead were the deckhand, who had landed her dream job; an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting couple; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.
The verdict comes more than four years after the 2 September 2019 tragedy, which prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and civil lawsuits.
- Michael Wales is the owner of The Wales Law Firm, P.I., a Maritime, Business and Injury Law Firm in San Diego and co-owner of AGL Yacht Sales, Inc.
