Dec 20, 2007 9:28 pm US/Pacific
Spill Ship Bar Pilot Requests Misconduct Hearing
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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Side of the Cosco Busan after the collision with the Bay Bridge tower.
AP
Attorneys for the captain who piloted the Cosco Busan when it struck the Bay Bridge in November, leaking 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay, have requested a hearing on misconduct allegations from the state board that has temporarily suspended his license.
The state Board of Pilot Commissioners announced Thursday that attorney's for Capt. John Cota have asked for a hearing from an administrative law judge in Oakland on the charges filed two weeks ago by the board.
Cota was piloting the 900-foot container ship in dense fog early the morning of Nov. 7 when it hit the fendering system of a Bay Bridge tower, opening a gash in the ship's side.
The recently repaired ship left San Francisco Bay for South Korea on Thursday.
The board on Nov. 30 suspended Cota's pilot's license, and on Dec. 6 filed misconduct charges against him that could result in his license being permanently revoked, according to board president Mike Miller.
The board alleged Cota was negligent and speeding, and that he didn't make full use of resources available to him, such as a tugboat, the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service, and the ship's lookout.
The notice of defense, dated Dec. 18 from San Francisco-based attorney John Meadows, did not respond directly to the charges.
Meadows did object to the board's accusation of misconduct "on the ground that it is so indefinite and uncertain that (the defendant, Cota) cannot identify the transaction and prepare a defense."
An initial hearing before an administrative law judge in Oakland could be scheduled as early as January, according to Miller.
Cota's license will remain suspended pending a decision.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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