Captain Sentenced to Four Years in Custody for Boat Fire

A federal judge has sentenced Captain Jerry Boylan to four years in custody and three years of supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a devastating fire aboard his scuba dive boat, the Conception. The September 2nd, 2019 blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent US history, prompting widespread changes to maritime regulations, congressional reforms, and numerous lawsuits.

Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer last year, a pre-Civil War statute that holds steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. He had faced up to 10 years behind bars, but his lawyers had requested a five-year probationary sentence, with three years to be served under house arrest. Despite the severity of the incident, Boylan’s lawyers argued that he did not intend for anyone to die, and that he lives with significant grief, remorse, and trauma as a result of the tragedy.

The Conception caught fire while anchored off Santa Cruz Island, with the crew unable to save the vessel. Thirty-three passengers and a crew member died, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. The victims included a deckhand, an environmental scientist, a globe-trotting couple, a Singaporean data scientist, and a family of three sisters, their father, and his wife.

Boylan was the first to abandon ship, jumping overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived. The sentencing marks the end of a nearly five-year prosecution that has been fraught with frustration for the victims’ families. Originally, Boylan was indicted on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter, which could have carried a total sentence of 340 years. However, his lawyers argued that the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes, leading to a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.

With the criminal case now concluded, attention turns to the numerous ongoing lawsuits. The tragedy has had a profound impact on those involved, and the sentencing provides some measure of justice for the victims’ families.