A fire aboard the Conception, a scuba diving boat captained by the captain, nearly five years after it occurred off the coast of California, claimed the lives of thirty-four individuals, earned him a four-year prison sentence for criminal negligence.
Jerry Boylan was found guilty in 2023 of one count of misconduct or neglect by a ship officer and of seaman’s manslaughter for his role in the unintentional deaths of thirty-three passengers and one crew member.
It’s regarded as one of the deadliest marine mishaps in recent American history. 39 persons were on board when his ship, the Conception, caught fire early on September 2, 2019, the majority of them were asleep below deck.
Boylan, along with four staff members, allegedly fled the boat without using the public address system to alert the passengers of the fire or to assist them in doing so.
Boylan was essentially negligent in his role as a captain, according to the prosecution, and he made no attempt to put out the fire using the extinguishers on board.
“The key issue here is the defendant’s duties as captain ,” as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Defense attorneys stated that Boylan only left the Conception when he was certain he would not live, and that he remained on board long enough to send out a mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard, CBS News reported.
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The prosecution cited Boylan’s failure to post a night watchman as a contributing factor in the event, as all six crew members were asleep at the time. This allowed the fire to spread throughout the ship without being noticed. Court filings stated that survivors stated the smoke alarms on the boat never went off.
The prosecution’s sentencing papers state that the “defendant has never apologized, much less taken any responsibility for the atrocity he caused.”
The Conception was completely engulfed in flames by the time rescue teams arrived, an hour after the initial distress call, and federal authorities were never able to identify the cause of the fire. The 34 individuals were all deceased.
Court filings contained some conjecture regarding the possibility that lithium ion batteries started the fire.
