Posted on 11/07/2023 1:03:42 AM PST by texas booster
A federal jury on Monday found a scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles confirmed Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Boylan was the only person to face criminal charges connected to the fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at kcra.com ...
The verdict comes more than four years after the Sept. 2, 2019, tragedy, which prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and civil lawsuits.
The Conception was anchored off the Channel Islands, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75-foot (23-meter) boat.
Boylan’s attorneys sought to pin blame on boat owner Glen Fritzler, who with his wife owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats.
They argued that Fritzler was responsible for failing to train the crew in firefighting and other safety measures, as well as creating a lax seafaring culture they called “the Fritzler way,” in which no captain who worked for him posted a roving watch.
A couple of things that I missed from the first postings almost four years ago.
The ships owners get off almost scott-free while the captain takes the (legal) fall?
an over-burdened ‘tree’ of electric circuitry, by an abundance of electronic devices
IIRC, there was only one way out. Another possible exit path, was blocked.
I wonder how people view a ship they are about to put to sea in? Gear adrift, passage way blocked, and etc etc. I have been on rivers, lakes, ponds, and 4 patrols on a USN nuclear submarine. My military experience influenced me a lot. I hold two scuba certifications and wouldn’t have tanks filled without checking my suppliers out. Pleasure divers can overlook details and scientists get channeled. Were they culpable? Maybe be some, probably. The captain still is an asshole and should fry like his guest. IMO
Also, the owners. They invested in a ship captained by an inept fool. They hired him, they should fry with him. Again, IMO.
While I was in the navy, we had constant firefighting drills.
Out on the water the captain has all of the authority.
And the responsibility.
If he isn’t doing the safety checks then who is?
I suspect that the owners purchased a ships captain that was the lowest bidder, so to speak.
Probably but all should fry. They financed the asshole. You bought it, you own it. Right up to the gallows.
Indeed! Because things go wrong at times, and when surrounded by deep waters, you had better know where to go and what to do.
The culprit in this fire is probably a bad chinesium battery or charger that wasn’t designed or manufactured correctly.
But the responsibility for the fire is the captain and the ships owners.
True. I could rig the engine room in my sleep On a USN 640 class boomer. The captain ordered the Engineering Officer to make it so. I could probably do it now, if there was still one around. Responsibility runs to the top. I put my jet boat in the river the passengers are my ultimate responsibility and their safety is my duty. Regards
34 people in a bunkhouse with only one way out?
You can’t have a spare bedroom with one single bed without an egress window, as a second escape.
The captain is in charge of everything, including the condition and state of readiness of his ship, at the time of the voyage, not the owner, who might be 1000’s of miles away.
I travel by boat and anchor out most nights. Even I set alarms and post my own night watch.
For years I lived in Ventura, with the Channel Islands close by. I never took one of the boats out to see them. They were beautiful as seen from the Ventura coastline, but I feared something like this.
Very few people know what very effective training looks like. This is the culture that I hope still prevails in the boats although I have seen it waiver over the years. There are a lot of AHs who get to pretty senior ranks who think more paperwork and procedure is a substitute for genuine training.
I’ve dove off of the Vision numerous times. The Vision is one of the Conception’s sister ships, very similar layout. The Thanksgiving dive charters were great. The ocean depth around where they were anchored is around 80 feet.
All charging of electronic devices was done in the galley which is located above the bunk room. I strongly suspect a lithium battery was the cause of the fire.
I followed this story pretty closely when it happened (I’m a diver), and I recall that there was also a trap door exit above one of the bunks (but it wasn’t known if the passengers were all aware of it). The theory was that they all died from smoke inhalation before the fire reached them. I pray that’s true.
I have dove the “Conception”
It was a well run ship but the bunks area was dark and difficult to get out of in an emergency.
One of the best dive operations on the West Coast.
I suspect you are correct on the cause of the fire.
BUMP.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.