National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy has again called on the US Coast Guard to require safety management systems for all US-flagged passenger vessels.
Homendy reiterated her call for such systems during a media availability event on Monday, September 2, the fifth anniversary of the 2019 Conception dive boat fire that killed 34 people off the coast of Southern California.
"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. "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 authorised 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."
During a Labor Day weekend dive trip on September 1, 2019, Conception carried 33 passengers and six crewmembers. During the early morning hours (local time) of September 2, a fire broke out while the boat was anchored in Platt's Harbor near Santa Cruz Island. The fire, which engulfed the boat and led to its sinking, resulted in the deaths of 34 people who had been sleeping belowdeck.
Five crewmembers, including boat captain Jerry Nehl Boylan, were able to escape and survived.
At the conclusion of a 10-day trial in November 2023, a jury found Boylan guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer – an offence commonly called "seaman's manslaughter." He was later sentenced to 48 months in US federal prison.
The US Department of Justice said that Boylan, as captain of Conception, committed a series of failures – including abandoning his ship instead of rescuing passengers – that resulted in the disaster. Such conduct constituted misconduct, gross negligence, and inattention to his duties and led to the deaths of 34 victims, prosecutors argued.
