SAN DIEGO — Jerry Boylan, the captain of the Conception dive boat where 34 people died amid smoke and flame over Labor Day weekend in 2019, was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for negligence that contributed to the disaster.

U.S. District Judge George Wu said he found Boylan “incredibly remorseful” and that he had not “intended to do something bad.”

The judge called it “one of the most difficult sentencings I’ve ever done,” and said he was taking the 70-year-old Boylan’s age and health into account, as well as the unlikelihood that he would re-offend.

The judge also rejected the prosecution’s claim that Boylan had abandoned his ship.

Hearing those words, Boylan began to tremble and wipe away tears. He could have received up to 10 years in federal prison for his conviction on what is colloquially called seaman’s manslaughter.

The lighter sentence — and the fact that the judge is allowing Boylan to remain free until after a restitution hearing — left many of the victims’ family members furious.

“There’s no justice,” said Robert Kurtz, the father of one of the victims. “He’s not even being remanded. He’s still free.”

After a two-week trial, a federal jury in November found Boylan committed gross negligence in the deaths of the 33 passengers and one crew member who were trapped in a windowless bunk room when the boat caught fire before dawn on Sept. 2, 2019 off Santa Cruz Island.

Boylan had been a captain for 34 years but failed to appoint an overnight watch, ignoring the Certificate of Inspection requirements hanging in his own wheelhouse.

Nor did he institute adequate fire safety drills. Prosecutors argued that this left his poorly trained, panic-stricken crew effectively useless amid the fire, which possibly originated in a trash can some time after 2:35 a.m.

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