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May 3, 2024

Dive boat captain sentenced to 4 years for deadly fire

Jerry Nehl Boylan was the first to abandon ship, leaving 34 people to perish. The accident prompted changes in the law on liability for maritime accidents.

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire off the coast of Santa Barbara in 2019 killing 33 passengers and one crewmember was sentenced Thursday to four years in federal prison.

Jerry Nehl Boylan, 70, was convicted last year of one felony count of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer, a charge referred to as "seaman's manslaughter." This law dates back to the pre-Civil War era and was created to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters...

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