[1] The accident need not occur on a boat, and the threshold of criminal liability is lower than in standard manslaughter cases due to the reduced mens rea requirement.
304), which established that any act of "misconduct, negligence, or inattention" by those responsible for steamboat operation or navigation which results in death shall deemed guilty of manslaughter.
[11] The pilot of the Staten Island Ferry MV Andrew J. Barberi lost consciousness while at the controls and crashed into a maintenance pier in October 2003, killing 11.
[6][12] On March 11, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit published U.S. v. Kaluza,[13] wherein it discussed the individuals included within the statute's "other person" provision.
[13] In December 2020, the captain of the MV Conception, Jerry Boylan, was charged with 34 counts of seaman's manslaughter after a fire killed 34 people off the coast of Santa Barbara.
[16] The government submitted a new indictment on October 18, 2022,[17] and Boyland was found guilty of seaman's manslaughter by a jury on November 6, 2023[18] and sentenced to four years in prison.