Conception dive boat fire: Captain guilty of seaman’s manslaughter

KPIX CBS TV footage showed ferocity of Conception dive boat fire that cost 34 lives

The captain of the Conception, the dive boat that caught fire in 2019 with the loss of 34 lives, was yesterday found guilty of seaman’s manslaughter.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California reports that a jury found Jerry Nehl Boylan, 69, of Santa Barbara, Calif., guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer – an offense commonly called “seaman’s manslaughter” – a federal offense punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.

According to evidence presented at a 10-day trial, reports the U.S. Attorney’s office, Boylan, as captain of the Conception, committed a series of failures – including abandoning his ship instead of rescuing passengers – that resulted in the disaster. Such conduct constituted misconduct, gross negligence, and inattention to his duties and led to the deaths of 34 victims, the jury found.

As the ship’s captain, Boylan was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its passengers, and its crew. The jury found he failed in his responsibilities in several ways, including by:

• failing to have a night watch or roving patrol;
• failing to conduct sufficient fire drills and crew training;
• failing to provide firefighting instructions or directions to crewmembers after the fire started;
• failing to use firefighting equipment, including a fire ax and fire extinguisher that were next to him in the wheelhouse, to fight the fire or attempt to rescue trapped passengers;
• failing to perform any lifesaving or firefighting activities whatsoever at the time of the fire, even though he was uninjured;
• failing to use the boat’s public address system to warn passengers and crewmembers about the fire; and
• becoming the first crewmember to abandon ship even though 33 passengers and one crewmember were still alive and trapped below deck in the vessel’s bunkroom and in need of assistance to escape

The Conception fire led to the National Transportation Safety Board calling for major safety improvements in small passenger vessels.

During the early morning hours of September 2, 2019, a fire broke out while the Conception was anchored in Platt’s Harbor near Santa Cruz Island. The fire, which engulfed the boat and led to its sinking, resulted in the deaths of 34 people who had been sleeping below deck. Five crewmembers, including Boylan, were able to escape and survived.

“This ship captain’s unpardonable cowardice led to the deaths of 34 lives on Labor Day 2019,” said United States 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.”

“Mr. Boylan’s failure to carry out his duties as captain of the Conception led to the catastrophic loss of 34 victims who suffered a horrifying death and perished needlessly in the end,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Ultimately, the hard work by the investigators from multiple agencies led to today’s outcome and now the victims’ families can continue their healing process. Let this tragedy be a lesson to anyone who commands a boat with vulnerable passengers that proper training, diligence and life saving measures – when called for – are necessary to safeguard those left in one’s charge.”

United States District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a February 8, 2024, sentencing hearing in this case. Boylan is free on a $75,000 bond.

The FBI, Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the incident.