The captain of a boat which in 2019 caught fire and sank off the coast of California killing 34 people was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday.
A US judge sentenced 70-year-old Jerry Nehl Boylan to 48 months in federal prison after a jury found the captain guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer – an offence commonly called "seaman's manslaughter" - in November.
The offence could have carried a sentence of up to 10 years. The defence had hoped for a suspended sentence.
"The defendant's cowardice and repeated failures caused the horrific deaths of 34 people," said US Attorney Martin Estrada. "The victims' families will be forever devastated by this needless tragedy."
Before sentencing, relatives of the victims had spoken about the heavy loss and demanded the maximum sentence for the captain.
A fire broke out on the diving boat "Conception" in September 2019 at the end of a three-day diving excursion. The passengers and a crew member were sleeping in a cabin below deck at night when the boat burst into flames off the Californian island of Santa Cruz. The rapidly spreading fire cut off their way to the exits.
The captain and four crew members, who were on deck, jumped overboard and survived. When rescue workers arrived, the boat, which was around 30 metres long, was fully engulfed in flames. It eventually sank. The tragedy is one of the most serious maritime accidents in recent US history.
The public prosecutor accused the captain of not having properly trained his crew for emergencies. In addition, he had not deployed a night watch, allowing the fire to spread unnoticed. He was also the first crew member to disembark when the other people were still trapped in the boat and needed help.
At the time, it was common practice in the region to dispense with night watches on boats. After the accident, the coastguard tightened the regulations. Investigators have never publicly stated a clear cause for the fire.