Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Snoozing Crew Raises Specter of Criminal Charge in Boat Fire
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
September 13, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — Federal investigators identified a violation of Coast Guard regulations that could trigger criminal charges in the California dive boat disaster that killed 34 people.

“A member of the vessel’s crew shall be designated by the master as a roving patrol at all times, whether or not the vessel is underway, when the passenger’s bunks are occupied.” — the boat’s inspection certificate
The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that all crew members on the boat Conception were asleep when the pre-dawn fire broke out Sept. 2 off the coast of Santa Barbara. The boat was required to have a crew member on lookout duty, according to Coast Guard rules.
“A member of the vessel’s crew shall be designated by the master as a roving patrol at all times, whether or not the vessel is underway, when the passenger’s bunks are occupied,” the boat’s inspection certificate said as a condition of operation.
Federal investigators are searching for the cause of fire and looking into possible criminal charges that would likely focus on an obscure federal law known as the seaman’s manslaughter statute.
Under the pre-Civil War law that can bring penalties up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors only need to show negligence or that the captain or crew committed misconduct or neglected their duties.
Defense lawyers and law professors said that failure to appoint a night watchman or falling asleep on the job could be enough to bring charges.
“No watch? A boat that far offshore?” attorney Michael Turndorf said. “I think that fits the statute. I would be surprised, if those are the real circumstances, that somebody doesn’t get charged.”

Captain and Four Crew Members Were Asleep on the Vessel’s Upper Deck

Turndorf is one of a handful of criminal lawyers who have defended a client charged under the seldom used law.
His client, Maine lobster boat captain Christopher Hutchinson, pleaded guilty earlier this year in the deaths of two crew members who fell overboard when his boat flipped in high seas in November 2014.
The law was put in place to punish captains, engineers and pilots responsible for deadly steamboat accidents that killed thousands in the 19th century.
A lawyer for Conception captain Jerry Boylan said he didn’t believe his client had spoken with the National Transportation Safety Board yet and declined to answer questions about what his client did the night of the tragedy.
“I would say that he’s emotionally devastated,” attorney Michael Lipman said.
Attorney James Mercante, who handles maritime law, said seaman’s manslaughter law is dangerous for boat owners and officers, and it’s often in their interest not to talk with investigators.
“You want to cooperate with authorities when there’s a casualty. But you have to draw that fine line,” Mercante said. “It comes down to a decision between cooperation and incrimination.”
The captain and four crew members were asleep on the vessel’s upper deck and survived. The sixth, a 26-year-old deckhand named Allie Kurtz , was sleeping below deck and perished with the boat’s 33 passengers.

Crews Raised the Wreckage of the Burned-out Boat Thursday

Kurtz’s grandmother, Doris Lapporte, said she was too distraught to comment on the National Transportation Safety Board findings, issued days before the family planned to scatter her granddaughter’s ashes at sea.

“May they all rest in peace and may their families know that all of us who have been involved in this sad operation continue to hold them in our hearts and in our prayers.” — Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown
“I have nightmares every day about her going up in flames,” Lapporte said, crying. “This isn’t the time to talk about how angry I am or how I feel.”
The victims on the Conception were a diverse collection, including a girl celebrating her 17th birthday with her parents and a friend, a marine biologist who was leading the three-day scuba diving excursion, an Indian-born dentist and her husband from Connecticut, an environmental scientist, and a professional photographer.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown released the names of the last seven to be identified during a news conference Thursday, the day after the final human remains were pulled from the water. It’s believed all died from smoke inhalation.
“May they all rest in peace and may their families know that all of us who have been involved in this sad operation continue to hold them in our hearts and in our prayers,” Brown said.
Crews raised the wreckage of the burned-out boat Thursday from waters off Santa Cruz Island where the vessel was anchored the night of the tragedy. The island is northwest of Los Angeles and about 20 miles from the mainland.
The NTSB report provided few additional details and noted investigators have only interviewed three of the five surviving crew members, who said no mechanical or electrical issues had been reported before the fire.

Overwhelmed by Smoke

One crew member on the upper deck awoke to a noise and saw flames rising from the main deck. He alerted the rest of the crew and the captain issued a panicked mayday call to the Coast Guard.
The crew, finding the ladder to the main deck on fire, jumped down — one breaking a leg in the process. They tried to get to the others through a window but couldn’t open it. When “overwhelmed by smoke,” they were forced to jump overboard.
Douglas Schwartz, an attorney for the Conception’s owner, Truth Aquatics Inc., attempted to cast doubt on the National Transportation Safety Board’s conclusion that the crew was sleeping, saying in a released statement that a witness “seems to contradict” that notion.
A crew member was awake shortly before the fire started and checked the galley and surrounding area around 2:30 a.m., Schwartz said. The first mayday call from the captain was transmitted at 3:14 a.m.
Schwartz refused to answer follow-up questions, including whether that crew member was assigned to night watch and went back to sleep after inspecting the galley.
The parents of Charles McIlvain, 44, a visual effects designer who was onboard with his neighbor, said they were greatly disturbed to hear there was no roving watchman.
“Early detection may have made an incredible difference in outcome,” Clark and Kathleen McIlvain said in a statement.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Dutch Government Collapses After Far-Right Leader Wilders Quits Coalition

DON'T MISS

Gaza Ministry Says Israel Kills More Than 30 Aid Seekers, Israel Denies

DON'T MISS

Nonprofit Ship Sets Sail for Gaza After Drone Attack Setback

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Opens Mixed as Investors Await Trade Negotiations

DON'T MISS

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

DON'T MISS

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

DON'T MISS

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

DON'T MISS

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

DON'T MISS

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

UP NEXT

Trans Athlete in Political Storm Earns, and Shares, First Place in Event

UP NEXT

California Plans to Ban Most Plants Within 5 Feet of Homes for Wildfire Safety

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Trump Trade War Has Already Had Huge Effect on California Ports

UP NEXT

How Gentrification Is Killing the Bus: California’s Rising Rents Are Pushing Out Commuters

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

Medicaid Work Rules Could Leave a Million Californians With No Health Insurance

UP NEXT

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

Wall Street Opens Mixed as Investors Await Trade Negotiations

45 minutes ago

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

47 minutes ago

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

50 minutes ago

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

16 hours ago

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

16 hours ago

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

16 hours ago

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

17 hours ago

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

17 hours ago

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

17 hours ago

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

17 hours ago

Dutch Government Collapses After Far-Right Leader Wilders Quits Coalition

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced his resignation on Tuesday, most likely ushering in a snap election, ...

9 minutes ago

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders speaks to the media following his decision to leave the governing coalition, in The Hague, Netherlands, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
9 minutes ago

Dutch Government Collapses After Far-Right Leader Wilders Quits Coalition

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Gaza City, June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
24 minutes ago

Gaza Ministry Says Israel Kills More Than 30 Aid Seekers, Israel Denies

Photo of climate activist Greta Thunberg
42 minutes ago

Nonprofit Ship Sets Sail for Gaza After Drone Attack Setback

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
45 minutes ago

Wall Street Opens Mixed as Investors Await Trade Negotiations

Harvey Weinstein appears for his retrial at the Manhattan criminal court, New York, U.S., May 30 2025. Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
47 minutes ago

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the annual ceremony at the eve of Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers (Yom HaZikaron) at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, 29 April 2025. (ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS)
50 minutes ago

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

Photo of caution tape
16 hours ago

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

Fresno County fire crews are battling a wildland blaze in Yokuts Valley near Rector Lane, where the RECTOR incident has burned 10 acres with the potential to spread to 100 on Monday, June 2, 2025. (CalFire)
16 hours ago

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend