Trial began Tuesday for the captain of a scuba dive boat that caught fire and sank off the Southern California coast in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.
Thirty-four people died in the Labor Day 2019 tragedy near Santa Cruz Island, about 25 miles south of Santa Barbara. The 75-foot boat caught fire before dawn on the final day of the three-day scuba diving excursion.
Four years later, the federal trial for Jerry Boylan, the boat's captain, got underway Tuesday with jury selection in a Los Angeles courtroom. Boylan, 68, of Santa Barbara, pleaded not guilty to one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. The pre-Civil War statute is also known as seaman's manslaughter.
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The National Transportation Safety Board said Boylan failed to post a roving night watchman, which allowed the fire to quickly spread undetected and trap 33 passengers and one crew member below-decks.
U.S. District Judge George Wu on Oct. 12 granted a defense request to bar most if not all references to "victims" during the trial. Boylan's attorney said it is a prejudicial term that jeopardizes his right to a fair trial.
Some of the dead were wearing shoes, prompting investigators to believe they were awake and trying to escape as flames and smoke consumed the boat. Both exits from the below-deck bunkroom were blocked by flames. Coroner’s reports list smoke inhalation as the cause of death, though official autopsies were never conducted.
What exactly started the predawn fire remains unknown. Early official scrutiny appeared to focus on a spot where divers plugged in phones and other electronics. But a Los Angeles Times story, citing a confidential report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the blaze began in a plastic trash can on the main deck though an official cause remains undetermined.
Boylan and four crew members sleeping in the upper deck told investigators they tried to save the others but were ultimately forced to jump overboard to survive. Boylan made a mayday call at 3:14 a.m. just before abandoning ship.
Dozens of family members have since formed “Advocacy34” to push for strengthened boating regulations. While seeking answers, they’ve comforted each other during loved ones’ missed birthdays and mourned each anniversary.
At the time of the fire, no owner, operator or charterer had been cited or fined for failure to post a roving patrol since 1991, Coast Guard records showed.
The NTSB faulted the Coast Guard for not enforcing that requirement and recommended it develop a program to ensure boats with overnight passengers actually have the watchman.
The Coast Guard has since enacted new regulations regarding fire detection systems, extinguishers, escape routes and other safety measures as mandated by Congress. But it has yet to implement a comprehensive safety management system after industry advocates pushed back, citing costs.
Victims' families have sued the Coast Guard in one of several ongoing civil suits.
Three days after the inferno, Truth Aquatics Inc., which belongs to the Conception’s owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers show they were not at fault.
The couple's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
In response to the families' outcry, federal lawmakers last year updated the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 so owners can be held liable for damages regardless of the boat’s value afterward.
The law is not retroactive, however, and will not apply in the case of the Conception.
