On 5th anniversary of tragedy, NTSB slams U.S. Coast Guard over Conception boat fire killing 34 people

On the fifth anniversary of the Conception boat fire, which killed 34 people just off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, the leader of the National Transportation Safety Board slammed the U.S. Coast Guard — saying it has failed to issue long-awaited safety rules.

On Sept. 2, 2019, the Conception was anchored in Platt's Harbor near Santa Cruz, about 20 miles southwest of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire. As the dive boat sunk, just 100 feet from shore, 33 passengers and a crew member remained trapped below deck and died. The captain, Jerry Boylan, and four members of the boat's crew jumped overboard and managed to escape.

Boylan was convicted last year of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, also known as seaman's manslaughter, for failing to notify the other people aboard about what was happening. He did not try to fight the fire or post a night watch, which prosecutors have said allowed the blaze to quickly spread through the vessel before killing 34 people. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

It has been described as the worst marine disaster since the founding of the NTSB in 1967. 

During a news conference Monday, leader of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, marked the fifth anniversary of the Labor Day tragedy by speaking alongside families of the victims. She read the names of the victims and criticized the U.S. Coast Guard, saying the agency has failed to issue long-awaited safety rules and regulations since the loss of 34 lives in 2019.

The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Most urgent among the needed safety standards, Homendy said, are safety management systems, or so-called SMS plans. She said NTSB has been asking the Coast Guard to require these safety programs for more than 20 years — first calling for them after a Staten Island ferry crash killed 11 passengers and injured 70 others in 2003.

She said these safety plans could have prevented the Conception fire and other tragedies like it. 

"We have issued this recommendation, time and again, over two decades," Homendy said. "How many times does the NTSB have to issue this recommendation again before the Coast Guard will take action?"

"How many deaths have to occur?" she asked. "How many families have to stand up here at a press conference, grieving their loved ones, before action is taken?"

Kathleen McIlvain, who lost her 44-year-old son Charlie in the Conception tragedy, described SMS programs as an important regulation that could have saved her son's life and could save other lives by preventing future disasters. 

"We say to ourselves, 'How can it be five years since we awoke to the most horrific day of our lives?'" McIlvain said. "Our hope was that no other family would feel this pain."

Members of the group Advocacy 34 — which represents loved ones of the victims and has been advocating for new transportation safety regulations — also appeared at the news conference. Vicki Moore, one member, spoke to reporters.

"It's a loss you carry for the rest of your life, and we don't wish that on anyone," Moore said. "It absolutely was not an accident. It was a disaster simply waiting to happen."

According to Homendy, there's been some action taken by the U.S. Coast Guard with respect to regulations on smoke and fire alarms and ensuring clear paths to emergency exits. However, she said the Coast Guard has not said how these rules are being enforced and the agency has not issued regulations that NTSB and Congress has been asking for over the past several years.

After the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash, the NTSB sharply criticized the Coast Guard, calling for improved emergency drills, better training and SMS plans. At the time, the Coast Guard said it didn't have the authority to issue such regulations. In 2010, Congress gave the Coast Guard that authority, and the maritime agency said in 2013 that it was working on rule making.

"And then they went silent," Homendy said. 

After the Conception tragedy, in 2021, the Coast Guard issued a notice asking for community input on a new set of safety regulations — after again being directed by Congress to make such changes. 

Homendy said that's the last update the maritime agency has given.

"We've heard nothing since January of 2021 — only that we're working on it," Homendy said.

Following the Conception tragedy, surviving crew members told NTSB that the dive boat's smoke alarms never went off and a preliminary NTSB report said all six crew members were asleep when the blaze started.