U.S. Coast Guard photo.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Salvage operations for the commercial diving vessel Conception off the coast of Santa Cruz Island have been completed Thursday.
Recovery efforts began at sunrise and concluded in the afternoon after the vessel was hoisted, drained of water and secured aboard a barge.
“I am proud of the unified response from the federal, state and local responders who have committed themselves to the safe recovery of the Conception,” said Capt. Monica Rochester, the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach commander. “This tragedy has affected so many families and the Coast Guard will continue to support the efforts into the investigation to possibly prevent them from happening in the future.”
On Sep. 2, at approximately 3:30 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies responded to a fire aboard the 75-foot commercial diving vessel, Conception, off the north shore of Santa Cruz Island claiming the lives of 34 people.
U.S. Coast Guard graphic.
A safety zone remains in place one nautical mile surrounding the incident location. Response crews will remain on scene to continue with the clean up and mitigation of any possible hazardous material.
The Conception Incident Unified Command was established between the U.S. Coast Guard, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the National Park Service.
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