Los Angeles Times - 26.11.2019

A1 2 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2019 WSCE LATIMES.COM

In the aftermath of the
fire, the Coast Guard has
stepped up inspections of
similar boats across the
country. Several boat own-
ers have said that among the
issues inspectors have
raised is the size of escape
hatches, fire protection sys-
tems and crew training in
emergencies.
The Coast Guard is al-
ready under scrutiny after
the Conception fire. The
Times reported this month
that the agency had often ig-
nored NTSB recommenda-
tions to improve fire safety
measures for nearly 20 years.
The safety exemptions
the Conception and other
boats received in the 1990s
are raising new questions.
“I am deeply concerned
about the fire and sinking of
the Conception, and the so-
called grandfathering of
boats under older boat safe-
ty regulations,” Rep. Julia
Brownley (D-Westlake Vil-
lage) told The Times.
“I am eager to receive
NTSB’s final report on this
incident and NTSB’s recom-
mendations for updating
federal laws in this area to
ensure the safety of passen-
gers and vessel crews.”
Kyle McAvoy, a marine
safety expert at Robson
Forensic and former Coast
Guard chief of the Office of
Commercial Vessel Compli-
ance Policy, said the grand-
fathering of older vessels
often happens when meet-
ing new regulations is eco-
nomically unfeasible and
impractical.
When adopting changes
to the Subchapter T regula-
tions in the 1990s, McAvoy
said the Coast Guard
wanted to ensure improve-
ments and safety for new
boats, but also had to ad-
dress what to do with exist-
ing vessels.
Before the new stan-
dards were adopted, the
Coast Guard sought public
comment and conducted
feasibility studies.
Older vessels “may not be
able to change what they
have,” said McAvoy, who re-
tired as a Coast Guard cap-
tain in 2016.
The Coast Guard has the

authority to make immedi-

ate safety changes after inci-

dents such as the deadly

Conception fire, McAvoy

said.

He said he was not sur-

prised inspectors are al-

ready scouring vessels

across the country, adding

that owners can always go

beyond the minimum stand-

ards to ensure passenger

safety, adding: “The Coast

Guard regulations are the

floor, not the ceiling.”

The original regulations,

written in the late 1950s, re-

quired two means of escape,

but did not specify min-

imum dimensions or say

where the exits needed to be

located.

Currently, the Subchap-

ter T regulations govern

about 5,000 vessels on U.S.

waterways. Of those, about

325 still fall under the origi-

nal rules.

The Coast Guard had

made numerous minor revi-

sions to the original regula-

tions throughout the years,

but they were not sufficient

to keep abreast of the

changes affecting the small

passenger vessel fleet since

the 1960s, according to Coast

Guard records.

Prior to the Coast Guard

updating regulations in 1996,

the last major revision oc-

curred in 1963, records show.

The reasons for updates

included vessels getting

larger and not keeping up

with fire-prevention tech-

nologies. Another reason

was significant casualties

on waterways, including

87 fire deaths between 1981

and 1986, federal records

show.

Among the incidents was

a fire aboard a vessel on the

Mississippi River that killed

three people. The Coast

Guard determined that a

$200 vapor detector would

have prevented the deaths.

Additionally, 32% of all fires

occurred on wood-hulled

vessels. And during that pe-

riod, 57% of all fires started

in the machinery spaces

aboard the boats.

After multiple casualty

investigations, the NTSB

and Coast Guard each

agreed that new rules were

needed “to prevent casu-

alties or alleviate damages

and injuries from future cas-

ualties,” Coast Guard re-

cords show. “The Coast

Guard agrees with many of

the investigation recom-

mendations that have been

made.”

The 1996 revision re-

quired a larger “means of es-

cape” for passengers to flee

during an emergency. It also

said the two “means of es-

cape must be widely sepa-

rated and, if possible, at op-

posite ends or sides of the

space to minimize the pos-

sibility of one incident block-

ing both escapes.”

The rule also said the

means of escape must allow

for the “easy movement of

persons when wearing life

jackets. There must be no

protrusions in means of es-

cape that could cause injury,

ensnare clothing or damage

life jackets.”

Additionally, the rule

stated: “The minimum clear

opening of a door or

passageway used as a means

of escape must not be less

than” 32 inches in width and

“illuminated exit signs are

required and must be in-

stalled.”

Truth Aquatics owner

Glen Fritzler has defended

his crew members’ actions in

trying to save the doomed

passengers. On Thursday,

he said he supports safety

regulations.

“We have always followed

Coast Guard regulations

and whatever is required,”

he said in a statement. “Our

past inspections reflect our

commitment.”

In the days after the fire

during a weekend excursion

in the Channel Islands, the

NTSB, Coast Guard and

federal agents toured the Vi-

sion — an 80-foot vessel simi-

lar to the Conception.

Both boats are owned by

Truth Aquatics, which op-

erates the fleet for diving

and other excursions

around the Channel Islands.

The U.S. Coast Guard has

said the Conception had

passed all recent inspec-

tions.

Though slightly larger

than the Conception, the Vi-

sion has a similar layout.

Single and double bunks are

stacked two and three high

in the boat’s sleeping quar-

ters below deck. A wooden

staircase leads from the

sleeping area up to the gal-

ley.

Authorities say the exit

on the Conception — along

with an escape hatch that

opens up near the dive deck

on the boat — was probably

blocked by fire.

Homendy toured the Vi-

sion with Coast Guard Capt.

Jason Neubauer, who over-

sees the Marine Safety

Board of Investigation. She

said she and the investiga-

tors turned off the lights to

see what it would have been

like for the passengers

trapped on the Conception.

Getting to the emergency

hatch was difficult, she said,

adding that investigators

couldn’t find the light

switches in the dark. The

small hatch also was trou-

bling, especially for larger

people, she said.

“It was very difficult,”

Homendy said about trying

to exit the escape hatch. “I

was taken aback by that.”

Industry experts and nu-

merous vessel captains told

The Times they expect the

government to adopt strict-

er safety regulations as a re-

sult of the deaths.

“It is clear that the regu-

lations are in need of serious

revision,” said a Los Angeles

maritime lawyer who re-

quested anonymity. “What-

ever ‘means of escape’ is, it

needs to actually work in an

emergency for everyone on

the vessel.”

After the fire on the Con-

ception, investigators have

cited some of the same defi-

ciencies pointed out by the

NTSB in other boat fires:

lack of crew training and in-

adequate safety measures

and maintenance.

Apreliminary NTSB in-

vestigation found that the

Conception had violated a

requirement that it have a

roving watch during the

night, saying the five crew

members who survived

awoke to discover the

flames. A Santa Barbara

County coroner’s review de-

termined the 34 victims died

of smoke inhalation.

While discussing marine

casualties during the House

hearing on Nov. 14, Coast

Guard Rear Adm. Richard

Timme, assistant comman-

dant for prevention policy,

said vessel owners and crews

are the first line of defense to

protect passengers.

“Equally important, the

vessel master and crew play

an essential role and should

be the first to recognize

problems and take early cor-

rective action,” he said. “The

vessel owner is obligated to

support the master and

crew’s ability to maintain

the vessel and operate it

safely.”

The results of the NTSB

investigation into the Con-

ception boat fire are ex-

pected to be released in 2020.

The Bureau of Alcohol, To-

bacco, Firearms and Explo-

sives is working with the

Coast Guard and NTSB on

determining a cause of the

deadly blaze.

Coast Guard investiga-

tors along with the FBI have

served search warrants on

Truth Aquatics and its ves-

sels as part of a criminal in-

vestigation. The evidence

gathered along with dozens

of interviews is being re-

viewed by federal prose-

cutors as part of the ongoing

inquiry.

During a House Subcom-

mittee on Coast Guard and

Maritime Transportation

hearing about passenger

safety on Nov. 14, Rep. Salud

Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara)

asked a top Coast Guard of-

ficial why the Conception

operated under outdated

safety regulations.

“It has been brought to

my attention that Concep-

tion was operating under

‘old T’ safety requirements,

meaning they were not fol-

lowing the most up-to-date

safety rules,” Carbajal told

Timme.

Small passenger vessels

weighing less than 100 tons

fall under Subchapter T of

the Code of Federal Regula-

tions for boats.

Timme called the regula-

tions “valid construction

standards today” and said

many vessels currently op-

erate under them without

any issues.

But if a formal Marine

Board of Investigation, the

highest-level marine casu-

alty investigation in the

Coast Guard, finds that the

old construction standards

contributed to the Concep-

tion tragedy, changes could

happen, Timme said.

“We will absolutely look

at that,” he said.

Brian Curtis, the NTSB

director of the Office of Mar-

ine Safety, told Carbajal the

agency is scrutinizing the

old and current standards to

determine if each ad-

equately addresses “means

of escape and crew responsi-

bilities” on small passenger

vessels.

“We’re taking a close look

at all these regulations,”

Curtis said, “to make sure

this doesn’t happen again.”

Boat in fire was exempt from stricter rules

VESSELSbuilt before 1996 were granted special exemptions from safety standards that the Coast Guard imposed on new boats, records

show. Above, the Conception dive boat burns after catching fire in the early morning of Sept. 2 while anchored off Santa Cruz Island, Calif.

Ventura County Fire Department

‘We have always

followed Coast

Guard regulations

and whatever is

required. Our past

inspections reflect

our commitment.’

—Glen Fritzler,

owner of Truth Aquatics,

which operated the Conception

[C onception,from A1]

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