MV Conception tragedy captain's appeal rejected

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Firefighters attempt to extinguish the fire on board the Conception (Photo: Ventura County Fire Department)

The captain of the MV Conception liveaboard that burned to the waterline off California in 2019, killing 33 passengers and one crewmember, has been denied a new trial following his conviction for misconduct or neglect of a ship's officer - also known as 'seaman's manslaughter'.

The Conception disaster, the worst in Californian maritime history for almost 150 years, began when a fire broke out in the liveaboard's saloon in the early morning of 2 September 2019, while the boat was moored off the island of Santa Cruz on the final night of a three-day tour of California's Channel Islands.

Captain Jerry Boylan, now 70, was convicted of the charge of seaman's manslaughter for failing to post a roving night watch who would have spotted the fire earlier, and which is required by maritime law; and failing to train his crew in the use of firefighting equiment.

Boylan requested a new trial arguing that the judge gave the jury incorrect instructions regarding a 'lesser-included' offence - that of negligence while operating a vessel - with which he was simultaneously charged. Conviction for the lesser offence would have seen Boylan charged with a misdemeanour, rather than seaman's manslaughter.

Boylan's legal team also argued that one of the prosecution's witnesses during the trial, a former crewmember who briefly worked on board the Conception in 2019 had lied under oath when he told the jury that he had left the job because of Boylan's 'lax attitude toward safety'. Boylan argued that the crewmember had actually left the position after filing a report with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) over the improper way he said that the boat's owner - Truth Aquatics - had been disposing of sewage.

US District Judge George Wu, who oversaw Boylan's trial and who denied the new trial, conceded that he should not have included the instruction for the lesser offence because it is possible to commit seaman's manslaughter without being negligent in the operation of a vessel, but said that the matter was 'irrelevant' because Boylan had still been convicted of the greater charge regardless of the inclusion of the lesser offence.

Regarding the testimony of the former crewmember, Judge Wu said that there were multiple reasons for his resignation, rather than the sole complaint about improper sewage dumping, citing an interview with the witness who said he had a 'strange feeling' about there not being a night watch, although by this point he had already decided to terminate his employment with Truth Aquatics.

Boylan is facing 10 years in prison for the disaster, which has led to a number of changes in US maritime law. Lawsuits are still pending against Truth Aquatics for attempting to escape responsibility for the Conception's safety shortcomings, and the US Coastguard for failing to enforce appropriate safety regulations.

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