A former dive boat captain was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday on a negligence conviction known as “seaman’s manslaughter” after 34 people were killed in a fire that broke out on his boat in 2019.

Captain Jerry Boylan is sentenced to four years in federal prison following a deadly fire on the dive boat Conception that killed 34 people.

California dive boat captain jailed over fire that killed 34 people - The blaze was the deadliest recent maritime disaster in US history

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 worst maritime disasters, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison.

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.

Captain Jerry Boylan, 69, was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, for the 2019 maritime travesty that prompted congressional reform.