CONCEPTION

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NTSB called on Coast Guard to require safety management systems for all U.S.-flagged passenger vessels five years after fire

Five years after the fire aboard the 'Conception', the National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy again called on the Coast Guard to require safety management systems for all U.S.-flagged passenger vessels. “For five years, I’ve worked with the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy to spur federal action on our recommendations,” Homendy said on Sep 2 at the Conception Memorial in Santa Barbara, Calif., at a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the 2019 tragedy. “The NTSB first recommended SMS in the marine mode 20 years ago, and specifically called for it on small passenger vessels since 2012. Additionally, Congress authorized the Coast Guard to mandate SMS in 2010. It’s 2024, and here we are, with no action. We know our recommendations save lives. I call on the Coast Guard to finish its work implementing solutions to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.” On the same day as she spoke to Conception families, Homendy issued the call again in a letter to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security: .“This terrible fire ins 2019 was my first marine investigation as an NTSB board member, and my experience investigating the tragedy and my bond with the families affected and deepened my commitment to improving marine safety, as I have previously written. I am committed to ensuring the pain these families have faced receives the weighty and urgent consideration it deserves, and that NTSB’s safety recommendations resulting from this incident are implemented with all possible haste so that no one else suffers a similarly tragedy.”

Captain has to pay restitution

The captain of the 'Conception', who was convicted of manslaughter in the fire in the Channel Islands which killed 34 people, has been ordered to pay restitution to the families of some of the victims. Jerry Boylan was convicted of a rare charge known as seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the blaze on board the 'Conception'. He was sentenced to four years in prison. A judge ordered him to pay $32,000 in restitution to the families of three of the 34 victims. The families had submitted documentation of funeral expenses for loved ones. More claims were pending. Boylan was convicted after a jury found that he had failed to have the crew maintain a watch which might have detected the fire earlier. It also found him responsible for implementing other safety measures.

Captain sentenced to four years in prison

The captain of the 'Conception' was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release by a federal judge on May 2, 2024. Jerry Boylan was convicted last year of a federal Civil War-era charge known as seaman’s manslaughter and prosecutors had been seeking 10 years in prison. Boylan is scheduled to surrender in July. U.S District Judge George H. Wu heard more than 17 victim impact statements for several hours in the crowded courtroom, including from the mother of the youngest victim, 16-year-old Berenice Felipe, and the Quitasol family, who lost five people in the fire.