Conception captain gets sentenced

[ancora]

The captain of the dive boat that burned to the waterline before dawn on Labor Day in 2019, leaving 34 people dead, has been sentenced to four years in Federal prison. Jerry Boylan, 70, was convicted in November 2023 of one count of misconduct or neglect after the dive ship Conception caught fire.
Full story can be found in the June/July issue of Professional Mariner.

 

[tiltrider1]

Very sad story all around. 4 years for a 70 year old is almost a life sentence.

 

[Benthic2]

For 34 people that dive trip was a life sentence.

 

[Comodave]

They did a lot of stuff wrong so I don’t have much sympathy for him.

 

[LovetoBoat]

Boy I don't know - very easy to criticize now.
I would like to know how the Coast Guard gets a free pass on this ride. I am a diver and sure I am a bit miffed - but I am also a volunteer fireman and I make sure I know which way is out - in a hotel, in a building with more than 100 people, in an arena, in an airplane, on a boat. I always know which way I am heading before I need to know - when my kids were small too they knew as well what the plan was in case of emergency.
I am pretty sure that Captain has suffered - I am not saying he should not be in jail but this was not completely his fault - there is enough blame to pass around...
I am glad I was not there.

 

[ancora]

He was the captain and did not have anyone on watch. He was the first one to leave the burning vessel. Federal investigators deeply critical of the captain's conduct during the fire, with US Attorney Martin Estrada saying he displayed "unpardonable cowardice" that led to the deaths of 34 people.

 

[psneeld]

Boy I don't know - very easy to criticize now.
I would like to know how the Coast Guard gets a free pass on this ride. I am a diver and sure I am a bit miffed - but I am also a volunteer fireman and I make sure I know which way is out - in a hotel, in a building with more than 100 people, in an arena, in an airplane, on a boat. I always know which way I am heading before I need to know - when my kids were small too they knew as well what the plan was in case of emergency.
I am pretty sure that Captain has suffered - I am not saying he should not be in jail but this was not completely his fault - there is enough blame to pass around...
I am glad I was not there.

All government agencies have a tough directive..... they are there to help AND enforce. Just like the FAA and airlines.... the USCG and commercial vessel operations are a constant stick and carrot and the minute the stick is used, someone whines to a Senator or Congressman and all sorts of crap starts to happen instead of what is right.

I am usually in favor of giving mercy when people make a mistake and have a stellar history. I am not educated enough in this case to say one way or the other...but with everything that I have reviewed....some pretty egregious mistakes were made and the overall outcome suggests a pretty relaxed situation on a boat that needed those kinds of supervision. Obviously the jury and judge thought so too to hand down a guilty verdict and 4 years in prison for a 70 year old.

 

[AlaskaProf]

All government agencies have a tough directive.........some pretty egregious mistakes were made and the overall outcome suggests a pretty relaxed situation on a boat that needed those kinds of supervision. Obviously the jury and judge thought so too to hand down a guilty verdict and 4 years in prison for a 70 year old.

The former DOJ prosecutor with whom I have lived for the past 30 years says:
"Enforcement without penalty is merely free legal advice."

Nonetheless, one does wonder: Didn't the captain have an employer? What's his story?

 

[Comodave]

When you are the captain you are responsible for everything board. You have to take that responsibility seriously, very seriously. Having someone on watch is required. If you want to take the job you have to be willing to assume the responsibility. And the consequences.

 

[CaptTom]

He was the captain and did not have anyone on watch. He was the first one to leave the burning vessel. Federal investigators deeply critical of the captain's conduct during the fire, with US Attorney Martin Estrada saying he displayed "unpardonable cowardice" that led to the deaths of 34 people.

I don't see it as cowardice. I doubt there would be anything gained by him staying aboard after the boat was fully engulfed. That's about the only decision he made which I don't really question.

When you are the captain you are responsible for everything board. You have to take that responsibility seriously, very seriously. Having someone on watch is required. If you want to take the job you have to be willing to assume the responsibility. And the consequences.

Very true. Nothing can exonerate him. But I think I understand how it got that way. My suspicion, and it's only that, is that a very lax attitude existed throughout the company, and possibly among all the other companies in that area. If you come up through the ranks, and learn the company way and/or local tradition, it's very hard to push back. He didn't get the job by challenging what the owners and managers wanted him to do. It's easy to be complacent when everyone around you is, too. That doesn't make it right, but I do feel some sympathy for the captain. Not as much as for the family and friends of those lost, but still.

 

[Blissboat]

When you are the captain you are responsible for everything board. You have to take that responsibility seriously, very seriously. Having someone on watch is required. If you want to take the job you have to be willing to assume the responsibility. And the consequences.

Yep. Capt. Boylan's seagoing career was over even while the Conception was still afloat and burning, and rightly so. His prison sentence may or may not feel unfair to him, and how he feels about it probably doesn't matter to all the beloveds of his passengers. But to every other mariner with a Coast Guard credential that they use to carry passengers for hire, this outcome ought to stiffen their spines to stand up to low-budget owners who encourage or even just tolerate crews who cut corners on safety. The Conception was a tragedy that no one wanted, but I agree with Capt. Tom in Post #10 above, in suspecting that the vessel's owners also have those deaths on their conscience. A company's culture begins and ends at the top.

 

[Comodave]

But as the captain, you have the right and necessity to walk away from a job that is out of control and unsafe. You have to maintain your ethical position. If you let cheap owners force you into unsafe positions then shame on you and you deserve what you get. Obviously the captain did not take control of his crew and enforce the rules. Again if you want to be the captain then you must make the tough decisions when it comes to safety. He knew that he had to maintain a watch 24x7 and he let the crew become complacent. If they had maintained a proper watch then they may have caught the fire in its infancy and saved the lives of everyone on board. Personally I think he got off easy.

A

 

[SeaDogAK]

Very sad story all around. 4 years for a 70 year old is almost a life sentence.

Statistically, the life expectancy of a 70 year old male is 15.4 years.

 

[long-cours.62]

I don't see it as cowardice. I doubt there would be anything gained by him staying aboard after the boat was fully engulfed. That's about the only decision he made which I don't really question.

Very true. Nothing can exonerate him. But I think I understand how it got that way. My suspicion, and it's only that, is that a very lax attitude existed throughout the company, and possibly among all the other companies in that area. If you come up through the ranks, and learn the company way and/or local tradition, it's very hard to push back. He didn't get the job by challenging what the owners and managers wanted him to do. It's easy to be complacent when everyone around you is, too...."

You are right few year ago I postuled to be Captain on a 24 m day trip sailing catamaran.
I come on board they check my competence, I maneuvering the boat for 2 hour.
After that they accept me to the job...but I said to them few "detail" I don't like for the security of the passenger on board, who must be solved before...I don't got the job

 

[CaptTom]

I've walked away from gigs, too. Nothing as bad as not maintaining proper watchstanding. In one case it was the safety of the passengers getting on and off, and the overall condition of the boarding and disembarking locations. I won't go into any more detail since it could still be going on. With deliveries it's easier because there are no pax to worry about, but even there I've walked away when the safety issues got to be more than I felt comfortable dealing with.

 

[Cold Duck]

Statistically, the life expectancy of a 70 year old male is 15.4 years.

Good to know, I'm 76 so about 9 more years. YEAH! I wouldn't want to spend 4 years of it in prison, even a minimum security one!
A can't remember all the crappy dive boats I've been on around the world. Even my 70ft Halmatic was a death trap, one way out for the 4 fwd cabins, one out from the master. A fire in the engineroom and everyone is dead. In the 1970s safety had a different meaning. We do get a little complacent when out on a dive boat.

 

[tiltrider1]

Statistically, the life expectancy of a 70 year old male is 15.4 years.

Probably true but what is the functional utility of that 15.4 years?

That said, he will spend his time in a Fed prison, he will probably get time off for good behavior, I really can’t say if he got too much time or too little. I can’t say what his health looks like or how many years his life expectancy will be reduced by prison. It does appear to be an age appropriate response to the seriousness of the issue.

 

[soin2la]

But as the captain, you have the right and necessity to walk away from a job that is out of control and unsafe. You have to maintain your ethical position. If you let cheap owners force you into unsafe positions then shame on you and you deserve what you get. Obviously the captain did not take control of his crew and enforce the rules. Again if you want to be the captain then you must make the tough decisions when it comes to safety. He knew that he had to maintain a watch 24x7 and he let the crew become complacent. If they had maintained a proper watch then they may have caught the fire in its infancy and saved the lives of everyone on board. Personally I think he got off easy.

A

When I read the highlighted sentences, two words came to mind:
El Faro.