Santa Cruz Island News

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people on board in one of the state's deadliest maritime disasters, was found guilty on Monday of a federal charge of seaman's manslaughter.Jerry Boylan, 70, was convicted by a U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles on a single charged count of "misconduct or neglect of a ship officer" under a federal homicide statute dating from steamboat accidents in the early 1800s.The felony conviction…

Four years after the fire aboard the Conception dive boat claimed 34 lives, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) renewed its call for the U.S. Coast Guard to require safety management systems (SMS) for passenger vessels. The recommendation, which the NTSB reissued following its investigation of the September 2, 2019, fire aboard the Conception, remains open.NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy sent a letter to the Coast Guard Commandant today emphasizing the need to issue the…

A salvage team has refloated a charter fishing vessel that sank near California's Santa Cruz Island.Overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), the salvage operation included underwater assessment, refloating, stabilization and the safe transfer of the vessel to harbor. The operation was led by a seasoned salvage master and supported by a crew of four experienced salvage technicians and divers.Two dedicated recovery vessels equipped with lift bags, dewatering equipment and custom rigging were brought in to handle the vessel recovery.

The US Coast Guard has published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 05-23, Fire Safety on Small Passenger Vessels and announced a concentrated inspection campaign.The Bulletin encourages owners and operators to do a self-assessment of the fire safety of their vessels and provides a checklist evaluating fire safety and emergency preparedness on board.MSIB 05-23 also announces that the concentrated inspection campaign, which will focus on fire safety aboard small passenger vessels…

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.The 75-foot (23-meter) Conception caught fire while most of those onboard were sleeping, killing 33 passengers and a crew member. It is considered one of California’s worst maritime disasters.U.S. District Judge George Wu said in a ruling that the indictment…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says more progress is needed on the safety recommendations it issued in the wake of the Conception dive boat tragedy.The Conception was anchored in Platts Harbor, off Santa Cruz Island, Calif., when it caught fire in the early morning of Sept. 2, 2019. The vessel burned to the waterline and sank less than 100 feet from shore. The 34 people asleep below deck were trapped in the bunk room: 33 passengers and one crew member lost their lives.Following the investigation, the NTSB issued 10 new safety recommendations: seven to the U.S.

On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for Safety Management System (SMS) requirements in the domestic passenger vessel industry (Docket No. USCG-2020-0123). This requirement will have the largest implications on the domestic passenger vessel industry since the revisions of 46 CFR Subchapter T & K in the mid-90s. However, the question remains, is it necessary?Over the last three decades, the effectiveness and need for…

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire last year near Santa Cruz Island, resulting in 34 deaths, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter.Jerry Nehl Boylan, of Santa Barbara, was named in the indictment by a federal grand jury that alleges Boylan, as the captain and master of the Santa Barbara-based Conception, “was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers.”The indictment alleges that Boylan caused the deaths of 33 passengers and one crewmember “by his misconduct…

A U.S. safety board on Tuesday called for new safeguards for small passenger vessels following a September 2019 early morning boat fire in California that killed 34 people.The 75-foot (23-m) recreational diving vessel, Conception, with 33 passengers and six crew aboard, was anchored off Santa Cruz Island when it caught fire. All 33 passengers and one crew member died of smoke inhalation because they were trapped in the berthing area while a fire burned above.The National Transportation…

Choosing the year’s ‘top stories’ is always a difficult task. Many compelling story threads played out, each dramatically impacting the North American waterfront, and in particular, the workboat sector – each in their own unique way.The Infrastructure Battle ContinuesThe EXECUTIVE SUMMARY H.R. 2396, the “Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Act”, will ensure that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is used for its intended purpose – maintaining Federally-authorized harbors. The legislation would allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to dredge all Federal harbors to their constructed widths and depths. Unfortunately, Washington continues in chaos with another continuing resolution on the budget; the next one expires on December 20th.

Divers have recovered the bodies of all but one of the 34 people killed when the scuba tour boat they were sleeping on off Santa Cruz Island, California, erupted into flames early this week, officials said.The charred wreckage of the Conception now rests 60 feet (18 m) below the surface. Divers were still actively searching for the remains of one person, said Amber Anderson of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.None of the victims has been officially identified yet.The…

None of a dive boat's 34 passengers survived a fast-moving fire that sunk it off California's Santa Cruz Island, officials said on Tuesday, as recovery workers prepared to try to retrieve 14 bodies still believed to be on the vessel or in the ocean.Emergency workers planned to use DNA analysis to identify the badly-burned remains of the 20 people so far removed from the 75-foot (23 m) Conception ship, which was lying upside down under more than 60 feet (18 meters) of water following…

Divers recovered the bodies of 20 of 34 people believed to have been killed after a fast-moving fire broke out aboard a dive boat off California's Santa Cruz Island, trapping the victims below deck, authorities said on Tuesday.Search and rescue efforts were called off and recovery moves were underway, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff and U.S. Coast Guard officials told a press conference.Authorities will use so-called rapid DNA technology to identify the bodies, 11 females and 9 males, authorities said.Other bodies were seen in the underwater wreckage. When water and weather conditions stabilize, crews will attempt to recover the remaining 14, authorities said.The 75-foot (23 m) Conception caught fire about 3:15 a.m. Monday and sank.

A Mexican man convicted in the 2012 killing of a U.S. Coast Guard officer, the first on-duty death since 1927, was sentenced on Monday to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole, a newspaper reported. A federal jury had convicted 42-year-old Jose Meija-Leyva, of Ensenada, of second-degree murder, among other charges, in the death of Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, the U.S. Attorney's office said in February. "The defendant had a choice to simply flee and attempt to evade capture, but chose to aggressively attempt to disable the Coast Guard small boat before making his getaway," prosecutors argued, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

Divers searched for more bodies early on Tuesday around the wreck of a boat destroyed by a blaze off the coast of southern California, as authorities launched an investigation into one of the area's worst maritime disasters.Emergency crews found at least 25 bodies after the fire broke out before dawn on Monday, leaving nine people still missing, the Associated Press reported. The coastguard declined to confirm the figures."We are looking for bodies now," said Santa Barbara Fire Department spokeswoman Amber Anderson.Flames ripped through the scuba diving vessel Conception…

Coast Guard and partner agencies are responding to a vessel fire near Santa Cruz Island Monday.At approximately 3:15 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders overheard a mayday call via channel 16 of an engulfed 75-foot commercial diving vessel with 38 people aboard.Crews from the Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Vessel Assist responded. The fire department crews were fighting the fire when the vessel sank 20 yards off shore in 64 feet of water.Five people were evacuated aboard a good Samaritan pleasure craft Great Escape.Currently, 33 people aboard the vessel are unaccounted for.Watchstanders launched two Coast Guard Station Channel Islands Harbor 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crews…

Eight people were confirmed dead from a predawn fire that sank a boat off a Southern California island and 26 others who were on the scuba diving vessel were missing, a local sheriff said.The fire broke out aboard the Conception, a 75-foot (23-metre) boat, at about 3:15 a.m. while it was moored just off the shore of Santa Cruz Island, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.Passengers slept in the ship's lower quarters, officials said, while five crew members who were above deck on the bridge escaped.The Coast Guard searched the coastline of Santa Cruz Island for any other possible survivors but had not found anyone, officials said."This isn't a day that we wanted to wake up to for Labor Day and it's a very tragic event…

The Coast Guard commissioned the newest California-based 154-foot Fast Response Cutter in San Diego, Wednesday.The Benjamin Bottoms is the fourth Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to be homeported at Base Los Angeles-Long Beach.While these ships will be based in San Pedro, they will operate throughout the 11th Coast Guard District, which includes all of California and international waters off of Mexico and Central America. "Radioman First Class Benjamin Bottoms is a Coast Guard hero," said Adm. Charles Ray, the Coast Guard vice commandant.

1921 - In first successful test, a compressed air, turntable catapult, launches an N-9 seaplane. 1922 - LCDR Godfrey deC. Chevalier makes first landing aboard a carrier (USS Langley) while underway off Cape Henry, Virginia. 1942 - Battle of the Santa Cruz Island. USS Hornet (CV-8) was lost and USS Enterprise (CV-6) was badly damaged during the battle. 1944 - Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with Navy carrier and USAAF aircraft attacks on the retreating Japanese ships. U.S. forces sink many Japanese ships including 4 carriers, 3 battleships, 10 cruisers, and 9 destroyers, for a total of 26 capital ships. Afterwards Japanese fleet ceases to exist as an organized fighting fleet.

The Coast Guard commissioned a new, California-based 154-foot Fast Response Cutter in San Francisco, Saturday, March 2, 2019.The Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward is the second of four Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutters (FRC) to be homeported at Coast Guard Base Los Angeles-Long Beach.While these ships will be based in Southern California, they will operate throughout the 11th Coast Guard District, which includes all of California and international waters off of Mexico and Central America.“This cutter is specifically designed to face today’s threats in the maritime domain,” said Rear Adm.

1921 - In first successful test, a compressed air, turntable catapult, launches an N-9 seaplane. 1922 - LCDR Godfrey deC. Chevalier makes first landing aboard a carrier (USS Langley) while underway off Cape Henry, Virginia. 1942 - Battle of the Santa Cruz Island. USS Hornet (CV-8) was lost and USS Enterprise (CV-6) was badly damaged during the battle. 1944 - Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with Navy carrier and USAAF aircraft attacks on the retreating Japanese ships. U.S. forces sink many Japanese ships including 4 carriers, 3 battleships, 10 cruisers, and 9 destroyers, for a total of 26 capital ships. Afterwards Japanese fleet ceases to exist as an organized fighting fleet.

1836- A General Order from the Secretary of the Treasury prescribed that "Blue cloth be substituted for the uniform dress of the officers of the Revenue Cutter Service, instead of grey. . ." thereby ending a controversy that ad brewed for years regarding the uniforms of the Service. 1947- The first helicopter flight to the base "Little America" in Antarctica took place. The pilot was LT James A. Cornish, USCG and he carried Chief Photographer's Mate Everett Mashburn as his observer. They flew from the CGC Northwind. 1966- When winds of 30 to 50 knots hit the southern California coast, surface craft off the 11th Coast Guard District rendered assistance to six grounded vessels, three disabled sailboats, and three capsized vessels. They also responded to seven other distress cases. A U.S.