Re question 1, Yes it's legally required, by the Coast Guard when they Certificated the vessel and every two years it's reinspected and renewed. It's a regulation of theirs, call it a law if you want, either way it's required. And it's specifically stated in black and white on the Certificate of Inspection, which is posted on board for all to see who want to see. It doesn't have a loophole whereby owners can cheap it out and not provide that roving body, and the Captain can shield himself (herself) beneath said stinginess. So a captain should, and most do, insist that the owner provide what the COI requires.
FWIW I've been a Coast Guard marine inspector and Marine casualty investigaror, many moons ago, hold a Hundred-ton Captain's license though rarely used, but have been a diver on several such offshore dive boats. And been watchstanding/roving night watch, from 6 pm to 6 am a couple of times, as Mate or "second Captain". Also a maritime attorney both in the Coast Guard, and as a civilian.
So I've been interested in this trial. But I've been chided by the old saw, "whenever there's a casualty at sea, there are many wise men on shore" Wise women too.
And as I understand it, it is now in the hands of the jury, after closing arguments last Friday, if I read the news accounts correctly.
Boylan did not take the stand, which probably means his attorneys figured it would only make things worse--or, maybe he just didn't want to, or was afraid to. So all they heard from the Defense came from the closing arguments. I wonder if the jurors feel "cheated", in not hearing from Boylan, but also not hearing from Fritzler?
Who among us has been a juror in a criminal case involving a death, and the death-penalty trial? I've had that experience once, never forget, it a murder case here in New Orleans several decades ago, innocent young man shot down in the street at a bus stop, mistaken identity over a gold chain. The lawyers must have been run out of peremptory challenges, or maybe they wanted me, a lawyer, on it, who knows. I do wish we had heard from the defendant (and particularly his older brother, who put his this easily-lead young man up to it, we found out afterwards.) But we didn't, so the lawyers did all the talking and I didn't feel as though we had been given the "whole story", but that's how it was. We convicted him, not much question, but then we had to deliberate the penalty--death, or life?
Sequestered for three days in a seedy downtown hotel, grateful for two to a room because we weren't allowed radio, TV, or phones. What I suppose could have been a shouting match, wasn't. We ranged from a dropout with a GED who "knew the streets", on up to graduate degrees. We differed, but respected each other--no raised voices or bullying, just hard work of handling this awesome responsibility, respectfully.
I was foreman. After most of a day, we ended up "hung", so it was automatic life sentence. And we had male and female, and black and white, on both sides of an 8-4 split. Took me quite a few days to decompress.
We jurors actually got together for coffee a couple of weeks later. We had kind of bonded.
I know, this has little to do with this tragic fire on CONCEPTION, except in both trials, is seems the jurors aren't going to hear from the "real" actors, just the attorneys doing their jobs, but of course trying to "steer" things,--so they were the only ones giving the Boylan story, but not from Boylan. And the "Fritzler story", but no Fritzler. I would think this is disappointing to the families, in their terrible loss, to have to hear it second-hand.
Enough from me. Thanks for reading.
