# Scuba Charter Disaster in California: over 30 feared dead.\[Sept.2019\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 2, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592 "2019-09-02T16:57:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/121 "2019-09-13T04:11:42Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I took a trip to the Channel Islands with the Sierra Club a few years ago. I don’t remember the name of the boat we were on, but looking at the layout of Conception it looks _exactly_ like the one we were on. If it wasn’t Conception it was more than likely one of her sister ships. I had to go look at my photos from that trip when I got home tonight. It appears I was on her sister vessel, Vision. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/122 "2019-09-20T16:13:03Z")
> [@](#): > > When the Conception first hit the water in the early 1980s, the personal electronics revolution was decades away. Divers who boarded the 75-foot boat for excursions in the Channel Islands brought film cameras. There were no smartphones to plug in or the array of other electronic devices now used to take underwater photos. > > But when the vessel set off decades later on its fateful Labor Day voyage, those on board needed power — a lot of it. And they plugged their equipment into a series of outlets concealed in the back of foam-filled L-shaped benches in the ship’s galley. Those outlets are now the focus of an intense investigation as federal officials try to determine the cause of the worst maritime disaster in modern California history, a fire that swept through the dive boat and killed 34 people… > > Preliminary investigations have suggested the fire did not start in the engine room, and there are growing signs the origin was in the galley area > **[California boat fire: Conception wasn't built to charge dozens of phones, ...](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-19/the-conception-wasnt-built-to-power-the-personal-electronics-revolution-could-this-have-caused-fire)** > > Electronic devices were plugged into a series of outlets in the Conception's galley. Those outlets are a focus of the investigation into the deadly dive boat fire that killed 34. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/123 "2019-09-20T16:53:45Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > They’ve been saying that the boat’s manufacturer\* has “suggested” lithium batteries as a possible cause for some time now. Which, while possibly true, sounds awfully convenient for them, since it would expose another party with deeper pockets to at least some portion of the liability for this. Only if a litigant could identify a specific battery (and its mfr) as the cause of the fire. I suspect that would be just about impossible, since the fire ultimately burned the boat down the waterline. Even if a battery did supply sparks that started the fire, it seems to already be an established fact that the boat did not have anyone on watch during the night per legal requirements. That puts the lion’s share of the blame on the boat operator. The article that **PastTense** linked to seems to be suggesting the probably was not specifically _a_ battery, but rather it may have been the fact that divers were charging dozens of batteries on just a few electrical outlets, and may have overloaded the boat’s old and salt-addled wiring. If true, then this would put the rest of the blame on the boat operator. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/124 "2019-09-20T17:53:11Z")
Between the fire and the seawater, is there going to be enough left to determine the cause? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/125 "2019-09-20T18:34:47Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Only if a litigant could identify a specific battery (and its mfr) as the cause of the fire. I suspect that would be just about impossible, since the fire ultimately burned the boat down the waterline. I guess that’d be for the investigators to decide. Assuming there are any remains to the batteries at all, perhaps they have a way of determining if a battery exploded outward prior to being exposed to an external heat source? IDK, I’m not a fire or arson investigator, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that they could finger a specific battery as the source, if indeed it was the source. If watching too many episodes of _Forensic Files_ has taught me anything, it’s that even as a fire destroys some evidence, it can create new evidence that can be just as telling. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The article that **PastTense** linked to seems to be suggesting the probably was not specifically _a_ battery, but rather it may have been the fact that divers were charging dozens of batteries on just a few electrical outlets, and may have overloaded the boat’s old and salt-addled wiring. If true, then this would put the rest of the blame on the boat operator. See, now I can absolutely buy aged, overloaded, and/or otherwise shoddy wiring, especially if the wiring and the outlets were added as part of a post-construction modification to allow for greater use of personal electronics. I’m not saying it couldn’t possibly have been a lithium battery exploding, but, I mean… yeah, it just seems kind of convenient for the boat’s designers to go that way with their speculation. And I think I have a little more faith in the cell phone manufacturers (a certain well-known Samsung debacle not withstanding) than I do in whoever added in a bunch of extra wiring post-construction (and maybe without reference to industry standards). Anyway, if that proves to be the case, I wouldn’t blame the rise in portable electronics and lithium batteries, I’d blame a lack of appreciation for electrical safety on the part of whoever commissioned or made the modification (if there was one). ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/126 "2019-09-20T19:20:50Z")
This kind of scenario seems to square better with the first person account from Bob Hansen on the _Great Escape_, upthread, who was woken up by people banging on his boat. He said he heard pops from presumably air tanks decompressing, so he was close enough to hear that. But what woke him was people banging on his boat, not the sound of a massive explosion. And it’s pretty easy to see how a rumor of an explosion could take root. Many assumptions made about fuels used aboard the ship plus reports of people hearing “explosions,” which could be other things like decompressing tanks, (or an exploding O2 tank cased by the fire) and the less-clear timeline of those reports. I’m not assuming that the more recent reports must be the whole story either. But it does merit emphasizing that relying on some isolated reports of “what happened” without waiting for investigation to back it up is unwise. (As is having heated arguments where one insists they know “what happened” based on early reports.) ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/127 "2019-09-20T20:19:44Z")
Not that there’s a ton of information, but here’s an NTSB preliminary report/executive summary. Offering more as a place to monitor for more info, or to check the basic facts: [https://ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/DCA19MM047-preliminary-report.aspx](https://ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/DCA19MM047-preliminary-report.aspx) Also, the Wikipedia article looks pretty thorough and well-documented with citations, but of course it can only be as good as the info in the papers. Still, better than just relying on speculation. According to the Wikipedia article, it isn’t that the Conception is grandfathered, it’s that vessels of her size/capacity are subject to regulations that haven’t been updated since 1978. Larger vessels are subject to much more stringent fire-related regs. Also, a crew member is suing, alleging lack of training and sufficient fire control equipment. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/128 "2019-09-21T01:27:08Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > But it does merit emphasizing that relying on some isolated reports of “what happened” without waiting for investigation to back it up is unwise. The NTSB isn’t going to publish results of its investigation for well over a year. By then most of us will have switched interest to more current catastrophes. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/129 "2019-09-23T07:57:27Z")
I’m not saying wait for the NTSB report. I’m saying that having heated arguments based on rumors one has heard, or what one has seen on social media immediately afterwards, without waiting for more official or reliable information is unwise. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/130 "2020-02-26T16:07:37Z")
Outside Magazine featured an online update on the tragedy. It looks like there was no nighttime watch, and many of the deaths were from carbon monoxide poisoning. It sounds like there were no fire extinguishers on the top level where the crew were sleeping [https://www.outsideonline.com/2409347/channel-islands-dive-boat-fire](https://www.outsideonline.com/2409347/channel-islands-dive-boat-fire) It contains a beautiful picture of Kristy Finstad for those who knew her. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/131 "2020-02-26T18:47:05Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > It contains a beautiful picture of Kristy Finstad for those who knew her. She is terribly missed in my community. Including by my wife and I, she was such a lovely person. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/132 "2020-12-02T02:25:00Z")
FYI, the captain of the dive boat was [indicted today](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-01/captain-in-conception-dive-boat-fire-indicted-on-34-counts-of-manslaughter-grand-jury) on 34 counts of manslaughter. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/133 "2020-12-02T05:36:06Z")
Thanks for the update. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/134 "2020-12-02T14:04:24Z")
Here’s CNN’s coverage: > **[California dive boat captain indicted on multiple counts of manslaughter in...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/01/us/conception-dive-boat-captain-indictment/index.html)** > > Jerry Nehl Boylan, 67, was indicted by a federal grand jury. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/135 "2022-10-12T22:23:57Z")
Updates: > **[Judge Throws Out Indictment of Captain in 2019 Dive Boat Fire That...](https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2022/09/02/judge-throws-out-indictment-of-captain-in-2019-boat-fire-near-santa-barbara-that-killed-34/)** > > A federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against a dive boat captain charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people when the vessel caught fire and sank off the California coast three years ago. [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-throws-out-indictment-captain-2019-california-boat-fire-that-killed-34-2022-09-02/](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-throws-out-indictment-captain-2019-california-boat-fire-that-killed-34-2022-09-02/) > **[Judge Dismisses 34 Manslaughter Charges in Conception Boat Fire, Citing Lack...](https://lawandcrime.com/federal-court/judge-dismisses-34-manslaughter-charges-in-2019-conception-boat-fire-citing-lack-of-gross-negligence/)** > > A judge has dismissed manslaughter charges against the captain of a boat that caught fire off the California coast in 2019, killing one crew member and 33 passengers. Note that: > a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, said prosecutors would seek authorization from the Department of Justice to appeal Wu’s ruling. The NTSB report is out: > **[MAR2003.pdf](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR2003.pdf)** > > 4.08 MB ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/136 "2022-10-13T20:51:58Z")
Negligence vs. gross negligence. Is the judge correct in his ruling that it has to be gross negligence? That’s a lot of time passed and have the prosecutor not file the correct charge. Rather than appeal, can they just refile with the gross negligence charge swapped in? Seems that would be a lot quicker. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/137 "2023-11-07T07:54:46Z")
> **[Captain found guilty of 'seaman's manslaughter' in deadly California boat fire](https://www.npr.org/2023/11/06/1211110705/california-boat-fire-2019-captain-found-guilty)** > > A federal jury found a scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Good. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/138 "2023-11-07T14:24:36Z")
Agreed. Here’s CNN’s coverage: [https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/07/us/california-dive-boat-captain-fire-guilty-verdict/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/07/us/california-dive-boat-captain-fire-guilty-verdict/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/139 "2024-05-03T04:21:28Z")
> **[Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34...](https://apnews.com/article/boat-fire-california-captain-boylan-sentencing-79f032df2cc6ae1140eb8ca6bc87e837)** > > A federal judge in Los Angeles has sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592/140 "2024-05-03T15:25:26Z")
I just saw that article this AM. Our neighbor’s daughter died in that fire. I hope this brings her some peace. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scuba-charter-disaster-in-california-over-30-feared-dead-sept-2019/839592.md?page=8)