DIVE BOAT CAPTAIN INDICTED IN FIRE THAT KILLED 34

The captain of the Conception, the dive boat that caught fire off the coast of Santa Barbara, killing 34 people, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter.

Each count carries a possible 10-year prison term with conviction.

The indictment alleges that as the leader of the 2019 diving tour near the Channel Islands, Jerry Boylan, 67, “was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew and its passengers,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, which announced the charges.

Boylan, a resident of Santa Barbara, was expected to surrender to federal authorities at a later date.

“As a result of the alleged failures of Captain Boylan to follow well-established safety rules, a pleasant holiday dive trip turned into a hellish nightmare as passengers and one crew member found themselves trapped in a fiery bunkroom with no means of escape,” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement.

The indictment said that “by his misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties,” Boylan caused the deaths of 33 passengers and one crew member, according to the announcement of the case.

Boylan and four other crew members, who had all been sleeping, escaped from the f laming boat after making a mayday call.

Prosecutors singled out three violations: failing to have a roving patrol; failing to conduct sufficient f ire drills; and failing to conduct sufficient crew training.

The summary of failures in safety protocol aboard the Conception mirrors the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board, which earlier this year faulted the boat’s owner, Truth Aquatics, for failing to have effective oversight of the vessel and not having a roving watchperson that would have detected the blaze sooner, saving lives.

The NTSB determined the fire began in the back of a middle deck salon where lithium-ion batteries were being charged, but the agency could not say whether it was the batteries, the ship’s electrical system or an unattended fire source that ignited the blaze.