"Boylan had been a captain for 34 years but prosecutors showed that he failed to appoint an overnight roving watch on the night of the fire, ignoring the Certificate of Inspection requirements, which were hanging in his own wheelhouse. Nor did he institute adequate fire safety drills. Prosecutors argued that this left his poorly trained, panic-stricken crew effectively useless amid the fire."
"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, trial evidence showed. Boylan himself called in a Mayday at 3:14 a.m. and jumped overboard, which prosecutors described as abandoning ship."
"I am not surprised that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the jury conviction of Jerry Boylan. As I watched the trial unfold I was at times overwhelmed by the blatant disregard Mr. Boylan and his employers had for the safety of passengers on their vessels."
Captain Jerry Boylan of the Conception dive boat was convicted of manslaughter after 34 people died in a fire on Labor Day weekend 2019 off the Channel Islands. The fire trapped passengers below deck while Boylan jumped overboard. A federal appeals court upheld his conviction and four-year prison sentence in May 2024. Prosecutors demonstrated that Boylan failed to appoint an overnight roving watch, ignored Certificate of Inspection requirements, and did not conduct adequate fire safety drills. His poorly trained crew proved ineffective during the emergency, with crew members passing a 50-foot fire hose without using it. The fire, possibly originating in a trash can after 2:35 a.m., blocked exits as flames spread through the bunk room.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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