Appeals court upholds Conception captain’s manslaughter conviction

*The MV Conception in flames (Photo: Ventura County Fire Department)*

A US federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Jerry Boylan, captain of the scuba diving liveaboard Conception, when the boat caught fire in 2019 off the coast of California, resulting in the deaths of 34 people.

Boylan, now 71, was found guilty of ‘misconduct, negligence, or inattention of a ship’s officer’, also known as ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ in November 2023, and sentenced to four years in federal prison in May 2024.

A request for a new trial was denied by the sentencing judge, who allowed Boylan to remain free pending an appeal. During the hearing in December 2025, Boylan’s lawyers asked for the conviction to be overturned, citing alleged errors in the instructions given to the jury during his trial.

His defence team argued that jurors were incorrectly told they could convict if Boylan had engaged in ‘misconduct and/or acted with gross negligence’, which allowed conviction on a lower standard than required under the ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ statute.

Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge John B Owens said the statute itself does not require proof of gross negligence, but criminalises deaths caused by a vessel captain’s ‘misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties’.

Assistant US Attorney Alexander Robbins told the court that disputes over the wording of the jury instructions had no practical impact on the trial.

‘It didn’t affect the arguments, it didn’t affect how the parties framed their arguments, it didn’t affect anything,’ Robbins said. ‘It was literally irrelevant to the jury’s determination.’

*The hull of the Conception after the fire had been extinguished (Photo: NTSB/Flickr)*

The case against Boylan was based on several different failures to adhere to federal safety regulations. Conception’s crew had not been properly trained in fire procedures and had not assigned an overnight roving watch.

Evidence also showed that when the fire broke out, he called the US Coast Guard but did not use the vessel’s public-address system to warn passengers sleeping below deck before he abandoned ship.

The 33 passengers and one crew member who died in the blaze were found to have died while trying to escape, only to find emergency exits were blocked, trapping them belowdecks.

‘While they valiantly tried to escape the burning boat – managing even to activate one of the fire extinguishers – none survived, all dying of smoke inhalation and asphyxiation,’ wrote the judges in their decision.

‘A brief video, recorded by one of the trapped passengers, showed their struggle to stay alive three minutes after Boylan called the Coast Guard and decided to jump overboard.’

The ruling means the former captain must now serve his sentence, a decision which has been welcomed by family members of the victims.

‘I am not surprised that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the jury conviction of Jerry Boylan,’ said Maggie Strom, whose husband Ted died in the disaster.

‘The original conviction for seaman’s manslaughter of 34 people was the correct verdict and it has been reaffirmed.’

Clark and Kathleen McIlvain, whose son Charles McIlvain died in the fire, said they were ‘relieved’ by the outcome.

‘Captain Boylan hasn’t spent one day in custody but he will finally be held accountable and serve his sentence,’ they said.

The Conception fire broke out in the early hours of 2 September 2019 while the 75-foot (23m) dive boat was anchored near Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California.

The disaster led to major regulatory changes in the US small passenger-vessel industry, including requirements for overnight fire watches and improved escape and detection systems.