Santa Barbara and the greater diving community is remembering the victims of the Conception dive boat fire on the sixth anniversary.
The fire led to the loss of 34 lives off the coast of Santa Cruz Island during Labor Day weekend, September 2, 2019.
The vessel, stationed 25 miles south of Santa Barbara, was engulfed by flames before dawn on the concluding day of a three-day diving expedition, ultimately sinking a mere 100 feet from shore.
The tragedy intensified as reports emerged of Captain Jerry Boylan, aged 70, being the first to desert the vessel, followed by four other crew members, while 33 passengers and one crew member perished in the fire.
In the aftermath, Boylan faced legal consequences, receiving a sentence of four years in prison along with three years of supervised release. However, he currently remains free on bail pending an appeal. Additionally, Boylan has been mandated to compensate approximately $32,000 in restitution to the families of three victims.
Civil lawsuits have also been filed from family members against Truth Aquatics, the company that owned the dive boat, for wrongful deaths as well as the federal government for not enforcing safety rules. These cases are still active.
Last year, during the fifth anniversary, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a news conference Monday focusing on key safety enhancements for small passenger vessels.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy addressed the public and press at the MV Conception Memorial at Point Castillo highlighting the dire need for substantive enhancements in the safety protocols governing small passenger vessels.
NTSB aims to advocate for further action regarding the safety recommendations laid out following their thorough investigation into the 2019 catastrophe.
Homendy said the inaction by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security since the disaster is unacceptable.
“I approve to implement a safety management system (SMS). What that means is safety policies, emergency drills, training, you know the procedures that crew members need to follow, you know simple policies. Issue it. We’ve been waiting, and so, we are demanding it,” said Homendy.
She stated the batteries charging by a trashcan near an exit may have played a role in the sparking the fire that trapped the 33 passengers and 1 crew member below deck.
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While many edhat readers demand various people be doxxed, fired, and publicly scorned the catastrophic and completely preventable loss of life on the Conception seems to be forgotten so soon.
Why in the world would you make a post like this political. MAGA really has lost all sense of humanity.
ZIPS – many of us did…. 4 YEARS AGO WHEN THIS HAPPENED.
Also, this isn’t the same as being a public racist or a Constitution-violating ICE agent. He didn’t INTEND on people dying. That’s why it’s not murder.
What a stupid and cruel comment to make on this tragic event.
This is the SIXTH anniversary of the tragedy, where have you been?
Please point to where I stated this was ‘murder’. I did not, but did state it was a ‘…catastrophic and completely preventable loss of life…’
You continue to misstate my comments- why?
ZIPSYDIP – A) That was a typo, I was thinking of 4 years from the trial. My bad.
B) I never said you said it was murder. You need to learn to read and think. I made the distinction regarding the INTENT of public racists, ICE agents, etc being different than here.
I doubt you’ll be able to comprehend that.
Dude, WTF are you even talking about. People haven’t forgotten.
Currently free on bail and only owes families $32,000?? That surely isn’t enough punishment thus far for this guy’s unprecedented level of complacency and ignorance as an operator of the passenger vessel that he was in charge of. His actions and inactions took the lives of 34 innocent souls. I sure hope the wheels of the court process can start rolling way faster at this point. The families of the loved-ones lost in this avoidable tragedy deserve some level of closure and justice.
I don’t want to infuse politics at all here. My heart aches for these people and their families. What a terrible tragedy.
R.I.P. to the 34 souls.