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Jerry Boylan, Captain of the MV Conception liveaboard that caught fire off the coast of California in 2019, causing the deaths of 34 people on board, has been sentenced by a Los Angeles court to four years in federal prison for seaman’s manslaughter.
Boylan, now 70, was found guilty in November 2023 of ‘misconduct or neglect of ship’s officer’, also known as ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ under a statute dating back to the 1800s, prior to the American Civil War. An appeal for a new trial based on a technicality in the proceedings was dismissed in April.
The Conception was moored off Santa Cruz island on the final night of a three-day liveaboard trip around California’s Channel Islands, when fire broke out in the early morning of 2 September 2019. Despite attempting to escape their quarters, 33 passengers and 1 crewmember were trapped belowdecks in the bunking area.
A blocked emergency exit was found to have prevented the passengers from escaping the blaze, however, Boylan was prosecuted for failing to post a roving night watch, as required by maritime law, which may have caught the fire early. He was also held responsible for failing to ensure his crew were adequately trained in firefighting procedures, although his defence argued that this was the duty of the boat’s owner, Glen Fritzler of California-based Truth Aquatics.
Boylan, a captain of 34 years, was also accused by the prosecution of cowardice for abandoning ship – the first crewmember to do so – before making any attempt to rescue his passengers.
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Families of the victims present at the sentencing hearing spent almost two hours reading impact statements to the court, having previously had to sit through horrific details of the disaster that killed their loved ones, including a 24-second video recovered from one of the victim’s smartphones, which recorded the last moments of their lives as they tried to escape the burning vessel.
Although some relatives had demanded the maximum 10-year sentence, US District Judge George Wu, overseeing the trial, said in mitigation that he found Boylan ‘incredibly remorseful’ for the tragedy, calling his decision ‘one of the most difficult sentencings I’ve ever done’.
Defence attorneys noted during the trial that although Boylan had not followed maritime law in posting a roving night watch, none of the other boats in the area were doing so either, hence it would be ‘unfair’ to punish him ‘for the failings of an entire industry.’
Several changes to maritime law were swiftly passed as a result of the Conception disaster, including a requirement for all covered vessels to have fire detection systems, fire extinguishers and unobstructed escape routes, while crews are also required to undergo firefighting training and conduct mandatory emergency escape drills.
A civil lawsuit is still pending against the boat’s owner, Truth Aquatics, and a wrongful-death lawsuit is also pending against the US Coastguard, for failing to enforce appropriate safety regulations.
