Conception dive boat captain faces prison in deadly fire after appeals court refuses rehearing

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

A federal court has declined to rehear the appeal of a dive boat captain who was convicted of manslaughter after 34 people died in a fire aboard his vessel over Labor Day weekend in 2019 near the Channel Islands.Captain Jerry Boylan, 72, was sentenced in May 2024 to four years in federal prison for his role in the deadliest maritime disaster in modern California history aboard the Conception dive boat.But Boylan has remained free pending the appeal.

His latest court loss means he could soon head to prison.A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit on Thursday denied Boylan’s request for a rehearing after the appeals court upheld his 2024 conviction.No judge on the full 9th Circuit requested a vote on it after being informed of the decision.Boylan, who was a licensed captain for 34 years, failed to appoint an overnight roving watch on the night of the fire — ignoring the Certificate of Inspection requirements that were hanging in his wheelhouse — and did not institute adequate fire safety drills.

Prosecutors argued that this left his poorly trained, panic-stricken crew effectively useless amid the fire, which possibly originated in a trash can sometime after 2:35 a.m.As the flames spread, blocking the exits for those crowded in the bunk room below, a member of Boylan’s crew twice ran by a 50-foot fire hose overhead, trial evidence showed.Boylan himself called in a Mayday at 3:14 a.m.

and jumped overboard, which prosecutors described as abandoning ship.California Conception crew members asked these boat owners for help.

Some of the men were crying, one saying his girlfriend was still below deck.In appealing his sentence, Boylan’s lawyers argued that the trial judge, U.S.District Judge George Wu, misstated the law required to prove guilt, saying if Boylan “engaged in misconduct and/or acted with gross negligence,” he could be found guilty of the charge.

According to Bo...