Sinking of MV Conception

Sinking of MV Conception

Conception at dawn on September 2, shortly after the fire was extinguished (photo by Ventura County Fire Department)
Date	September 2, 2019
Time	Approximately 3 a.m. PDT UTC−07:00
Location	Platts Harbor, Santa Cruz Island, California, United States
Coordinates	34°02′51″N 119°44′06″W / 34.04750°N 119.73500°W / 34.04750; -119.73500
Cause	Fire
Outcome	(See Aftermath section)
Deaths	34
Non-fatal injuries	5
Location of sinking in Channel Islands: MV Conception class=notpageimage| Map of the Channel Islands, California, with sinking site marked in red. Show map of USA California Channel Islands MV Conception MV Conception (California) Show map of California

The sinking of MV Conception occurred on September 2, 2019, when the 75-foot (23 m) dive boat caught fire and eventually sank off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California, United States. The boat was anchored overnight at Platts Harbor, a small undeveloped bay on the island's north shore, with 33 passengers and 1 crew member asleep below decks when a fire broke out shortly after 3 a.m. Five crew members, whose sleeping quarters were on the top deck, survived while everyone else on board died. The crew members were forced by the fire to jump overboard but not before placing an initial mayday call to the Coast Guard and attempting to alert the passengers. The crew retrieved the Conception's skiff and motored to a nearby boat where a second radio dispatch was made. The rescue and recovery operations were coordinated by the United States Coast Guard.^[1][2]

It is the worst maritime disaster in California since the sinking of the Brother Jonathan in 1865, and the deadliest in the United States overall since the USS Iowa turret explosion in 1989.^[3] It is also the deadliest transportation-related disaster in the United States since the 2009 Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash near Buffalo, New York.^[4]