The captain of a recreational dive boat that caught fire, killing nearly everyone on board, has been charged with 34 counts of manslaughter

• The captain of the P/V Conception, a recreational diving boat that caught fire last year, has been charged with 34 counts of seaman's manslaughter.
• One crew member and 33 passengers died in the boat fire near Santa Cruz Island on September 2.
• In an indictment filed on Tuesday, a federal grand jury alleges that captain Jerry Nehl Boylan "was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers" on the night of the fire.
• The indictment alleges that Boylan's "misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties" led to the deaths of nearly everyone on board the ship.

The captain of a recreational dive boat that caught fire in a 2019 incident that killed 34 people has been charged with 34 counts of seaman's manslaughter in their deaths.

An indictment filed on Tuesday by a federal grand jury alleges that captain Jerry Nehl Boylan, of Santa Barbara, California, "was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers" on the night his P/V Conception caught fire last year near Santa Cruz island, killing 33 passengers and one crew member.

Boylan caused the deaths through his "misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties," the indictment alleges. It further claims that Boylan failed to have a night watch on the boat, failed to conduct sufficient fire drills, and failed to conduct sufficient training for his crew, all things required by the Code of Federal Regulations.

Boylan faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge of seaman's manslaughter. He's expected to surrender in the coming weeks, the US Attorney's Office Central District of California said in a statement about the indictment.

"As a result of the alleged failures of Captain Boylan to follow well-established safety rules, a pleasant holiday dive trip turned into a hellish nightmare as passengers and one crew member found themselves trapped in a fiery bunkroom with no means of escape," US Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement.

"The loss of life that day will forever impact the families of the 34 victims. With this indictment and our commitment to vigorously prosecute the case, we seek a small measure of justice for the victims and their loved ones," he continued.

The Conception, a 75-foot passenger ship made of wood and fiberglass, caught fire in the early hours of September 2, 2019, during a Labor Day weekend recreational diving trip in which 33 passengers and six crew members were on board. Five crew members, including Boylan, escaped the blaze.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report last year that all six crew members were asleep when the fire started.

"This tragedy forever altered the lives of so many families and loved ones, and it deeply affected members of the public who watched in horror. We continue to grieve with them," Kristi K. Johnson, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement about the indictment. "Our hope is that this indictment leads to the prevention of boating accidents and the senseless destruction of lives through proper precautions and training."

• Read more:
• Video shows the charred remains of the boat in the California fire that killed 34 being raised from the seabed
• All 6 crew members were asleep when a fire started on the diving boat that went up in flames off the California coast and killed 34 people: NTSB preliminary report
• A family of 5 on a birthday trip, a father-daughter duo who loved diving, and a marine biologist leading the scuba expedition are believed to be among the 34 California boat fire victims
• The owners of the boat in the California fire that killed 34 blamed their insurers for a lawsuit aimed at limiting victims' payouts to $0