Captain indicted in boat fire that killed 34 people in California, feds say

The captain of a California dive boat that caught fire last year, killing 34 people, was indicted Tuesday, the Department of Justice said.

Jerry Nehl Boylan, 67, of Santa Barbara, was indicted by a federal grand jury on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter, officials said in a news release. He was named in the indictment as the “captain and master of” the P/V Conception, the Department of Justice said.

Boylan is expected to turn himself in, according to the Department of Justice.

“The Conception was a 75-foot, wood-and-fiberglass passenger vessel that docked in Santa Barbara Harbor,” officials said in the news release. “During a Labor Day weekend dive trip last year, the boat carried 33 passengers and six crew members, including Boylan.”

On Sept. 2, 2019, a fire broke out and engulfed and sank the boat while it was anchored. All 34 people who had been sleeping below deck were trapped inside and died. Five crew members, including Boylan escaped and survived, according to the Department of Justice.

The indictment says he violated three safety measures, including failing to have a night watch or roving patrol, failing to conduct sufficient fire drills and failing to conduct sufficient crew training.

“As a result of the alleged failures of Captain Boylan to follow well-established safety rules, a pleasant holiday dive trip turned into a hellish nightmare as passengers and one crew member found themselves trapped in a fiery bunkroom with no means of escape,” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in the news release. “The loss of life that day will forever impact the families of the 34 victims.”

One charge of seaman’s manslaughter has a statutory maximum penalty up to 10 years in federal prison.

This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 7:50 PM with the headline "Captain indicted in boat fire that killed 34 people in California, feds say."