Convicted in 34 deaths, Conception boat fire captain remains free, restitution still unpaid
Nearly five years after 34 people died below deck in a fire on the Conception dive boat, the families of the victims have yet to receive any restitution and the vessel’s captain remains free, despite being found guilty in the deadliest maritime disaster in modern California history and being sentenced to four years in prison.
U.S. District Court Judge George H. Wu on Thursday delayed ruling on restitution owed by Capt. Jerry Boylan to the families of those killed over the 2019 Labor Day holiday off Santa Cruz Island.
Instead, Wu said, he would make a final decision by July 29, when he also will decide whether the 70-year-old Boylan should remain free pending appeal of his conviction.
Wu gave both parties until July 18 to file a list of non-disputed restitution amounts as well as disputed sums.
ATF investigators conducted a series of burn tests on a full-scale mock-up of the middle deck of the dive boat and concluded the deadly blaze began in a Rubbermaid garbage bin beneath the stairs of the main deck.
Boylan’s attorneys have asked that he remain free on bond pending appeal of his conviction of gross negligence in the disaster. They argue that Boylan has shown he is not a flight risk and and there are substantial questions whether he actually caused the 34 deaths.
Prosecutors have demanded he be imprisoned, noting that the case has been delayed “time and time again†and that he was previously ordered to surrender on Aug. 8, 2024. They argue there is no “legitimate grounds for further delay.â€
Boylan’s conviction last year stemmed from a steamship-era law known as “seaman’s manslaughter.â€
Prosecutors argued that despite his 34 years captaining maritime vessels, Boylan failed to appoint a federally mandated overnight watch on the Conception, which was making a weekend diving expedition. Nor did he institute adequate fire safety drills, which left his crew panic-stricken when the fire broke out before dawn on Sept. 2, 2019.
As the flames spread, blocking the exits for those crowded in the bunk room below, a member of Boylan’s crew twice ran right by a 50-foot fire hose overhead. Boylan called in a mayday at 3:14 a.m. before jumping overboard, which prosecutors described as abandoning ship. During Boylan’s sentencing in May, Wu rejected that claim.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will hold a hearing in October to reveal the results of its investigation into the Conception dive boat fire that killed 34 people off Santa Cruz Island and what needs to change to small boats to avoid a repeat.
The 33 passengers and one crew member who died below deck — some as they tried to escape — included an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting husband and wife; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
The family of the boat fire’s victims have sued Truth Aquatics and the U.S. Coast Guard for its inadequate oversight.
At Boylan’s sentencing, Wu said that he found the captain “incredibly remorseful†and that he had not “intended to do something bad.†He also took Boylan’s age and health into account, as well as the unlikelihood that he would reoffend.
Boylan’s attorneys argued that the person responsible for the deaths was Glen Fritzler, who owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other dive boats. They argued that Boylan’s failure to use an overnight watch was merely following the custom of Truth Aquatics and that he didn’t know he was imperiling passengers. Prosecutors called it the “blaming your boss†defense. Fritzler has denied any wrongdoing.
After investigations by The Times and the National Transportation Safety Board, the Coast Guard adopted several safety reforms.
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