Conception divers’ relatives sue Coast Guard
THE US COAST GUARD is being sued for wrongful death by the families of the 34 people, mainly scuba-divers, who died in the Conception liveaboard fire off Santa Cruz Island, California in 2019.
The 48-page civil lawsuit, filed on 1 September almost exactly two years after the fatal incident, blames the Coast Guard, the regulatory agency responsible for certifying such vessels in the USA, for allowing the dive-boat to operate with electrical and safety systems that it says failed to meet its own standards.
“Had the Coast Guard properly inspected the Conception it never would have been certified, never set sail, and these 34 victims would not have lost their lives,” said legal team representative Jeffrey Goodman.