National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials said the agency is advocating enhanced safety measures for small passenger vessels following the investigation of a 2019 California dive boat fire that killed 34.
The dive boat fire in which a 75-foot recreational diving vessel, Conception, with 33 passengers and six crew aboard, was anchored in Platts Harbor, off Santa Cruz Island.
An early morning fire in September 2019 resulted in each of the 33 passengers and one crew member dying of smoke inhalation after they were trapped in the berthing area while a fire raged on the deck above, indicating both exits from the berthing area led to the fire and smoke-filled enclosed area above.
The NTSB is advocating all vessels similar to the Conception with overnight accommodations be required to have interconnected smoke detectors in all passenger areas and a secondary means of escape leading into a different space than the primary exit – in the event a single fire blocks both escape paths.
“The Conception may have passed all Coast Guard inspections, but that did not make it safe,” NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt said. “Our new recommendations will make these vessels safer, but there is no rule change that can replace human vigilance.”
The NTSB is also recommending the Coast Guard develop and implement an inspection program to verify roving patrols are conducted for the safety of sleeping passengers and crew – noting investigators determined the absence of a required roving patrol on the Conception likely delayed the initial detection of the fire, allowed for its growth, precluded firefighting and evacuation efforts and directly led to the high number of fatalities in the accident.