CAPTAIN SENTENCED IN DIVE BOAT DISASTER

By Bob Walsh

Captain Jerry Boylan 

 

 

Jerry Boylan, who had the poor fortune to be the Captain of the dive boat Conception when it caught fire and burned to the waterline in Santa Barbara Channel in 2019, has been sentenced.  The fire killed 34 people.

Boylan could have gotten ten years.  He in fact got four.  Boylan was the first person to leave the vessel after the fire started.  He was originally charged separately with 34 counts of "seaman's manslaughter."  The judge determined that since the deaths were essentially linked one count was appropriate.  

Boylan never did post a fire watch on board, which was legally required.  He also never did any fire fighting or fire emergency training.  

Boylan's lawyer argued that the owner of the operation, Glen Fritzler, was actually legally responsible for the deficiencies.  

There are still many civil suits pending, though they will very possibly go nowhere.  A statue from the early 1800s limits the owners of the vessel to liability equal to the value of the vessel AFTER the fire,  which is essentially zero.  The same sort of maritime law insulated the White Star Line from any significant civil liability after the Titanic sank.