Conception dive boat captain Jerry Nehl Boylan was sentenced to four years in prison at a federal court hearing Thursday for “seaman’s manslaughter” in the deadly fire that killed 34 people.
On Sept. 2, 2019, 33 passengers and one crew member died in the devastating boat fire that trapped them in the below-deck bunkroom.
Boylan, 70, of Santa Barbara, and five other crew members who were on higher decks of the boat jumped overboard to escape the blaze.
Investigators found that Boylan’s failure to have a roving patrol, as required, allowed the fire to grow undetected. All crew members were asleep when the flames broke out.
One of them was awakened by a noise, saw the fire, and alerted the others.
A federal jury convicted Boylan of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer in November.
At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Judge George H. Wu sentenced Boylan to four years in prison.
“The defendant’s cowardice and repeated failures caused the horrific deaths of 34 people,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement after the hearing.
He said the families of the victims “will be forever devastated by this needless tragedy,” and that his office hopes the sentence will bring some healing to them.
“Boylan, as captain of the Conception, committed a series of failures – including abandoning his ship instead of rescuing passengers – that resulted in the disaster,” his office said in a statement.
In the criminal case, prosecutors alleged Boylan, a longtime captain, failed his responsibilities 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.
- Becoming the first crew member to abandon ship even though 33 passengers and one crew member were still alive and trapped below deck in the vessel’s bunkroom and in need of assistance to escape.
“There are no winners when lives are lost at sea, but there is justice in bringing those accountable to answer for their crimes,” said Jeremy Gauthier, Coast Guard Investigative Service Director, in a statement after the sentencing Thursday.
“Today is an example of that.”
Prosecutors Asked for Maximum 10-Year Prison Sentence
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, prosecutors filed documents asking the judge to impose a 10-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors said Boylan “knew that his core duty was, above all else, to keep his 33 passengers and five crew members safe.”
Boylan left for the Labor Day weekend trip knowing he had an inexperienced crew that he hadn’t trained in firefighting or fire drills, prosecutors said.
“He knew that he habitually ignored the most basic tenet of maritime fire safety in failing to maintain a roving patrol at night. The stakes were life and death,” U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutors wrote.
“Predictably, when the fire started and grew without any crew member awake to detect and contain it, chaos ensued amongst his inexperienced and untrained crew. Compounding his reckless failures and misconduct in the lead-up to the fire, during the fire defendant failed to alert his passengers of the fire, failed to direct his crew on how to fight the fire, and failed to attempt any rescue whatsoever.
“Instead, defendant saved himself. He was the first to abandon ship. He instructed his crew to do the same, multiple times. In so doing, he left all 34 victims onboard the Conception to die.”
The Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Office determined the victims died of smoke inhalation.
As prosecutors wrote in the pre-sentencing report, “During the fire, after defendant abandoned them, the victims were awake and awaiting rescue.”
One of the victims shot video of the frantic scene at 3:17 a.m., three minutes after Boylan made the radio mayday call and jumped overboard, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The video confirmed that the 34 victims in the bunkroom were awake during the fire and could have been rescued were it not for defendant’s failure to: (1) use a roving patrol, (2) train and drill his crew in firefighting, (3) direct and assist his crew on the night of the fire, and (4) attempt to fight the fire himself.
“Victims can be heard saying “there’s gotta be a way out,” “there’s got to be more extinguishers,” “unless we can get outta here,” and “we’re gonna die,” according to the report.
Several family members of the victims made impact statements in court Thursday, according to news reports.
Some quotes from written comments submitted to the court ahead of time included:
“Boylan’s reckless actions shattered the foundation of our existence and left a trail of devastation and despair.”
“[My loved one’s life was] cut short along with 33 others because of the sheer laziness and negligence of Jerry Boylan to do his job. She was just 26 years old. Jerry Boylan has had the opportunity to live his life free for the past 5 years while we have gone through hell, reliving the tragedy over and over…”
“On September 2, 2019 my entire world crumbled. Finding the words to encompass the amount of hurt I have endured due to Jerry Boylan’s actions and inactions has been an impossible task.”
“My daughter will not have her father here to walk her down the aisle. My son will never have his father witness the man he has become. The list of losses is endless and I will not share every single one in this statement. As there are just too many. Jerry Boylan took this all away when he decided to write his own rules of engagement for his vessel and disregard the law.”
Defense Attorneys Submitted Letters Asking Judge For Sentencing Leniency
Several people also submitted letters to the judge asking for leniency on Boylan’s behalf. They said he was remorseful and “a shell” of the man he was before the fire.
They also pointed to his decades of experience as a “safety-conscious” captain who shared his love of the sea with people from all over the world. Some of them shared stories of Boylan and his crews saving passengers who had medical emergencies or dive emergencies during a trip.
“Jerry has been a shadow of a man since the accident. He was a boat captain in every sense of the title, and his entire life was on that boat,” wrote Jessica Friedland, who worked with Boylan in the past.
Edward Stetson, who organizes dive charters out of Santa Barbara, called Boylan a competent, professional and safety-oriented captain. However, Boylan and the rest of the industry were negligent for not having the required roving watchmen at night, he said.
“My point is not to justify Jerry’s actions, but rather state that Jerry was doing what everybody else in the industry was doing,” Stetson wrote. “Our entire industry has learned from Jerry’s mistake, so hopefully this will save lives in the future.”
