Conception trial begins

[KevinNM]

If the night watch was there at the time, as a roving watch he could be somewhere else long enough for the fire to become deadly.



All trash is kept onboard so it would have only moved the fire, placing it with more fuel.

Could. But we have conclusively demonstrated that not having the legally required watchman allowed the fire to become deadly. ‘Maybe the driver would have still crashed if he hadn’t been drinking.’

 

[DanBMW]

Just an FYI to anyone getting on any live aboard. Insist on a good safety briefing and walk around, before you sleep the first night. Even today, well, several weeks ago, on a live aboard in Cuba, the first safety briefings was not adequate. Power point and oral safety briefing was difficult to hear over engine noise and lack of information. My wife and I took it upon ourselves to walk the boat and talk about how to get out in case of an emergency.

 

[DandyDon]

My wife and I took it upon ourselves to walk the boat and talk about how to get out in case of an emergency.

Great. That'd be a good idea for any overnight stay. I just missed the great MGM fire in Vegas by a week.

Did y'all take your own, portable Smoke & CO alarm? They're small, lightweight, cheap, and you never know about theirs.

 

[DanBMW]

Great. That'd be a good idea for any overnight stay. I just missed the great MGM fire in Vegas by a week.

Did y'all take your own, portable Smoke & CO alarm? They're small, lightweight, cheap, and you never know about theirs.

No we didn't but I know that a good idea. Is there any difficulty in carrying them to countries outside of the US? In luggage or carry-on baggage?

 

[DandyDon]

No we didn't but I know that a good idea. Is there any difficulty in carrying them to countries outside of the US? In luggage or carry-on baggage?

I packed mine in checked luggage, battery removed, to Mexico.

 

[nolatom]

I packed mine in checked luggage, battery removed, to Mexico.

Here's a news account of some of the proceedings on yesterday, Tuesday, an expert witness from King's Point regarding shipboard fires and response, retained by the Prosecution.
Nothing surprising here, I think, so I'll refrain from trying to characterize it:

Marine firefighting expert claims dive boat captain caused passengers’ death

An associate professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy told the jury that the failure of the Conception's captain to have a roving patrol at night caused the death of all 33 passengers on board.

www.courthousenews.com

 

[Tom Winters]

What I think of the actions of the captain-in-name-only cannot be printed here.

 

[SlugLife]

Is the captain, also the owner? Essentially, is he the person who essentially enticed and benefited from the people being on the boat? Is he the person responsible for the layout and inadequate fire-protection, and being too cheap to take those precautions? Sometimes the captain is just the lead on the boat, and other times they're the owner. I don't actually know the answer to that question.

A close friend's close-friend was on that boat, so I probably want to see justice as much or more than anyone else. My open question would be if the captain is the fall-guy, but there's someone else who should really be on trial. And yes, running away while the boat is on fire is certainly a bad look, and probably some kind of neglect.

edit: Though I suppose being the "captain" likely makes him responsible for ensuring crew are doing their job, everyone (crew and passengers) are briefed about safety, and so on. Who else would that responsibility go to?

 

[SlugLife]

But the question is did his misconduct or negligence prevent the crew and pax from having a fighting chance of surviving.

From the DOJ
The charge of misconduct or neglect of ship officer contained in the new indictment alleges that Boylan – who “was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers” – failed his responsibilities in several ways, including by:

What I think of the actions of the captain-in-name-only cannot be printed here.

Bottom line.... The Captain is the Captain is the Captain

Playing devil's advocate, this "captain" may have one defense, which is that he was captain in name only. For example, if he was simply the primary boat-driver, but he was not a financial benefactor (other than paid hourly/salary), nor a boss, nor responsible for hiring and firing, nor the owner of the boat. If there is another owner or boss, perhaps this captain has a defense?

Or perhaps he wouldn't have a defense if there is some kind of legal definition and responsibilities around boat captains.

IMO, the biggest culprit in this incident is whoever ran this boat on the cheap, hired low-skill unmotivated labor, didn't pay for adequate safety measures, and didn't ensure there were safety protocols in place. In other words, whose choice would it be, to pay for additional safety equipment, hire workers, or fire workers? That person may indeed be this "captain" or may be someone else. I'm curious if anyone can dig up or knows that info.


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And to devil's advocate the devil's advocate, I think there's a good argument that practically every crew member has some liability in this. And when asking "which crew member is most responsible" the most obvious answer would be "the captain."

 

[KevinNM]

The harping on abandoning the vessel and not fighting the fire is BS. It’s just a distraction, I have no idea why they harp on it. You can’t fight a fire when the hoses already got burned up and the reason the captain jumped off the boat was that the coast guard never noticed it didn’t have a second exit from the bridge.

The captains actions prior to the fire are the only part that matters, and they are pretty terrible.