On Monday, the federal jury announced the imprisonment of Jerry Boylan, a scuba dive boat captain, for criminal negligence in the deaths of 34 people in a fire aboard the Conception dive boat in 2019.
The 2019 tragedy was marked as the deadliest maritime disaster in recent US history.
Boylan Found Guilty in 2019 Maritime's Disaster
The US attorney's office in Los Angeles announced that Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, a pre-civil war statute informally known as "seaman's manslaughter" that was designed to hold steamboat captains and mariners accountable for maritime disasters.
Boylan was the only person charged related to the 2019 incident, and he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison. His attorneys blamed boat owner Glen Fritzler and Fritzler's wife, who owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats.
The families of those killed cried together in the courtroom after the verdict was announced. The families said they were thankful for the FBI, who led the investigation. Clark and Kathleen McIlvain, parents of Charles, who died at age 44, said they feel at ease now as there was finally accountability for their loss.
"We are very happy that the world knows that Jerry Boylan was responsible for this and has been found guilty," Clark McIlvain said.
"A strong message came through that if you are the captain of a boat, you are truly responsible, and there are consequences if you don't follow the law," Vicki Moore, Kendra's mother, who also died in the boat, said.
According to AP News, the verdict was read after more than four years since the September 2019 tragedy. The maritime disaster resulted in changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform, and civil lawsuits.
Conception Tragedy in 2019
The Conception boat was off to 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 and sank less than 100ft (30 meters) from shore.
The boat had a total of 33 passengers and a crew member who were trapped in a bunkroom below deck. The passengers in the boat include the deckhand, an environmental scientist who conducted research in Antarctica, a Singaporean data scientist, and a family of three sisters; the father and his wife were all dead.
Boylan left the scene first, along with four other crew members who joined him. The US attorney's office reported that Boylan failed to secure the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting, which resulted in the spread of the fire undetected across the 75-foot (23-meter) boat.
The case was still pending as the families of the victims filed a lawsuit against the Coast Guard for alleged lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.
