The big picture: Jerry Nehl Boylan was found guilty last November of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer over the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history over the federal offense that's colloquially referred to as "seaman's manslaughter."

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people in one of the state’s deadliest maritime disasters, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison for his conviction on a federal charge of seaman’s manslaughter.

The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, and prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing lawsuits.

The boat caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion.

The captain of a dive boat has been jailed for four years over the deaths of 34 people in a fire aboard his vessel five years ago in California. Jerry Boylan, 69, was convicted of one count of "seaman's manslaughter" by a jury last year.