{"id":51114,"date":"2022-10-18T15:49:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T22:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51114"},"modified":"2022-10-18T15:52:18","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T22:52:18","slug":"51114-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51114","title":{"rendered":"Captain of Santa Barbara, California Dive Boat That Caught Fire Indicted for the Deaths of 33 Passengers"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The captain of the\u00a0P\/V Conception<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 a Santa Barbara-based dive boat that caught fire near Santa Cruz Island in 2019, resulting in the deaths of 33 passengers and one crew member \u2013 was indicted today by a federal grand jury on a charge of misconduct or neglect of ship officer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The one-count indictment naming Jerry Nehl Boylan, 68, of Santa Barbara, alleges a series of failures and the abandoning of his ship, which constituted \u201cmisconduct, gross negligence, and inattention to his duties\u201d and led to the deaths of 34 victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Credit: Courtesy Truth Aquatics and S.B. County Fire Department<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The new indictment reinstates the charge against Boylan after a federal judge last month dismissed a previous indictment charging Boylan with the same offense because it did not allege gross negligence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The charge of misconduct or neglect of ship officer contained in the new indictment alleges that Boylan \u2013 who \u201cwas responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers\u201d \u2013 failed his responsibilities in several ways, including by:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Failing to have a night watch or roving patrol<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Failing to conduct sufficient fire drills and crew training<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Failing to provide firefighting instructions or directions to crewmembers after the fire started<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 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<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Failing to \u201cto perform any lifesaving or firefighting activities whatsoever at the time of the fire, even though he was uninjured.”<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Failing to use the boat\u2019s public address system to warn passengers and crewmembers about the fire<\/span><\/li>\n
  • becoming the first crewmember to abandon ship \u201ceven though 33 passengers and one crewmember were still alive and trapped below deck in the vessel\u2019s bunkroom and in need of assistance to escape.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The\u00a0Conception<\/i>\u00a0was a 75-foot, wood-and-fiberglass passenger vessel that docked in Santa Barbara Harbor.<\/span><\/p>\n