The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would change the liability of small passenger vessel owners, which is one of several law changes pursued after the fatal Conception dive boat fire that killed 34 people in 2019 in Santa Barbara County.
The Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 “would require owners of small passenger vehicles to be held legally responsible for damages in future boating accidents and incidents, regardless of the value of the boat,” Rep. Salud Carbajal’s office said in a statement about the legislation this week.
Conception dive boat fire victims’ families have filed numerous lawsuits after the disaster, but they can’t seek damages from the boat’s owners because of the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. That act means that a vessel owner is not financially liable for losses, including loss of life, if a boat has no value after it was destroyed, according to Carbajal’s office.
The proposed bill would change liability laws to allow compensation for families of victims of boating incidents. It would have to be passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Joe Biden to become law.
The bill was originally written to apply retroactively to the Conception fire, but that part of it was removed in the current version passed by the U.S. House, according to Carbajal’s office.
“Unfortunately, in the course of bipartisan negotiations on this package, there were some that felt that making this change retroactive for all past maritime accidents, as I had proposed, would go too far,” Carbajal said in a statement. “I completely disagree with that line of thinking, especially when it comes to getting justice for victim’s families — but I believe fixing our laws for the future will be the best case for proving them wrong. Whether through the conference process or through additional legislation, I will continue advocating for this change to be made retroactive to enable restitution for the families of Conception victims that I have worked with and gotten to know over the past three years.”
Four days after the fatal fire, the Conception owners filed a lawsuit to limit liability based on federal code and 1850s laws that limit liability for seagoing vessels for personal injury or death.
Families of the Conception fire’s victims have filed wrongful death claims in federal court and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard alleging that the agency repeatedly certified “a ‘fire trap’ small passenger vessel that was riddled with blatant life-safety violations.”
The Conception’s captain, Jerry Boylan, who survived the fire, faces manslaughter charges in federal court. The indictment alleges that he caused the deaths of the 33 passengers and one crew member “by his misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties.”
The Conception, owned by Truth Aquatics, caught fire and sank near Santa Cruz Island in the early morning hours on Sept. 2, 2019, during a Labor Day weekend scuba diving excursion.
At the time, the vessel was anchored offshore at Platts Harbor on the mainland side of the island.
The passengers and one crew member who were below deck in the bunk room area were all killed in the fire. The captain and other crew members who were above deck at the time of the blaze were able to jump overboard and escape the blaze.
The Conception sunk after the blaze, and the wreckage was hauled to the surface and examined as part of the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the fire and boat sinking was the failure by the owner, Truth Aquatics, to provide effective oversight of the vessel and crew member operations.
The failure to have a roving patrol, which is required by law, allowed the fire to grow undetected, the NTSB report concluded.
In January, the Coast Guard issued new fire safety rules for small passenger vessels in the wake of the Conception disaster. Many of those requirements follow NTSB recommendation from the fire investigation.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.