Environment & The Green Beat

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ― The City of San Francisco filed suit Monday against the owner and operators of the container ship responsible for the Nov. 7 spill of 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay.

The city's lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court alleges negligence and seeks an unspecified amount of damages that it said will total in the millions of dollars.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrara contends that the ownership of the Cosco Busan and ship pilot Capt. John Cota violated California law by sailing the boat under dangerous conditions. The suit also said they failed to respond quickly enough to prevent a spill when the ship struck a Bay Bridge tower.

The lawsuit labeled the spill a "catastrophic blunder."

"This was a wholly avoidable incident has caused more injury to the San Francisco Bay Area than we can yet begin to fathom," said Herrera, a former maritime lawyer.

Herrera sought compensation for the city's cost of dealing with and cleaning up the spill, damages for the economic impact on local beaches, wildlife, fishing and tourism and punitive damages for the defendants' alleged violation of state environmental protection laws.

The city's lawsuit is also based in part on the state of California's Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, which makes ship owners and operators, "absolutely liable" for oil spills regardless of blame.

At least four other lawsuits have already been filed against the Cosco Busan's owner and operators. 
  
Fishermen and fishing boat owners have filed two lawsuits in Superior Court and one in federal court for damage to their livelihood, while the U.S. government has sued in federal court over harm to navigable waters and federal beaches and marine sanctuaries.

Meanwhile, it appeared Monday that some of the fishing claims may be settled without court action.

The Cosco Busan's ownership reached an agreement to provide about $700,000 to crab fishermen whose livelihoods have been damaged by the spill.

"I think they're trying to do the right thing. They know what a tough spot we were put in by this oil spill. Now we're getting a down payment on our losses that's going to help us stay in business," said Larry Collins, head of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association.

The relief agreement is preliminary, and will disburse $5,000 to $10,000 in insurance funds to each of the approximately 70 crab fishermen in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay represented by the San Francisco law firms of Hanson Bridgett and McGuinn, Hillsman and Palefsky, according to attorney Michael Duncheon.

Defendants in the city's lawsuit include the ship's owner, Regal Stone Ltd. of Hong Kong; the company that leased it, Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. of South Korea; and ship operators Fleet Management Ltd. and Synergy Maritime Ltd.

A spokesman for Regal Stone said the company would not comment on the case because of ongoing state and federal investigations into the spill.

"We're participating in all the investigations, but we're not commenting on any of the lawsuits out of respect for the process," spokesman Mike Hanson said.

Also named in the city's suit was Cota, 59, of Petaluma, who the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday had not yet relinquished his federal Merchant Marine Officer's license, as the agency had requested. His state harbor pilot's license was suspended two weeks ago.

The Coast Guard asked Cota on Friday to voluntarily surrender the federal license, which is a prerequisite for receiving any state-issued license that would allow him to work as an officer on a commercial ship, said spokesman Dan Dewell. The action was taken because of questions about Cota's "physical competence," Dewell said, declining to elaborate.
  
Cota was given until Tuesday to hand over his federal mariner's license. If he does not comply, the Coast Guard could ask a judge to suspend or revoke it, he said.

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