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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP) ― The federal government and the owners of the container ship Cosco Busan on Friday resolved a legal standoff that had kept the vessel here for more than five weeks after it struck a bridge support and dumped 58,000 gallons of toxic oil into San Francisco Bay.

The government asked for and received $79.5 million the full value of the ship as the maritime equivalent of a release bond, said Andrew Ames, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice.

The money serves as the kind of security deposit the government sought to cover a possible judgment in its civil case against the shipowner. Federal rules say the maximum amount that can be demanded for security in such cases is the value of the ship, Ames said.

The deposit eliminates the government's threat to "arrest," or seize, the vessel, which could have cost taxpayers a significant amount of money, Ames said. The threat was part of a lawsuit filed Nov. 30 by the federal government against the ship's owner, Regal Stone, Ltd.; Capt. John Cota, the pilot at the helm during the Nov. 7 collision and Regal Stone's insurance company.

The government indicated in court filings that it had difficulty tracking down Regal Stone on the security issue.

A week after it asked the company for a security letter, the company had not responded, according to the filing. Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, who signed this court filing, said he had provided his cell phone number to the company "and indicated that he would accept a call at any time, including after close of regular business hours."

Darrell Wilson, a Regal Stone spokesman, said he was checking with the company's lawyers on the security matter.

Obtaining the security bond means that if the government wins a judgment against the ship itself, it can collect up to $79.5 million directly against the security.

But the agreement on the security bond does not cap how much the government can seek in damages as part of its Nov. 30 lawsuit, nor what other plaintiffs may seek, Ames said.

The ship hit a support tower for the Bay Bridge, opening a gash in its hull and leaking 58,000 gallons of toxic bunker fuel into the water. The spill killed thousands of birds and closed more than a dozen area beaches.

On Friday, with repairs to the Cosco Busan complete, the Coast Guard allowed the ship to move from a repair facility in San Francisco to an anchorage in the bay, said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Anya Hunter.

The ship will next head to South Korea, Wilson said, though the timetable for departure was unclear.

Much of the Cosco Busan's crew has been replaced for its next voyage. Seven new crew members, including a new master, chief mate and chief engineer, are now manning the ship, Hunter said.

The Chinese crew members were interviewed by the Coast Guard in its initial inquiry into the spill. But they refused to talk to investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board or the U.S. attorney's office on the advice of their lawyers, a Regal Stone spokesman said.

However, six crew members aboard the ship at the time of the collision will remain in the United States, apparently to assist with the investigations, Wilson said.

"As far as we know they are just witnesses," Wilson said. "They have not been charged with any wrongdoing, and we do not anticipate that they will."

Wilson said the crew members will be "staying in comfortable civilian accommodations and are free to come and go from their lodgings and to enjoy their time in the San Francisco area."

Two other crewmembers will return home because the government initially indicated that they would be asked to stay, but now have been told they can leave, Wilson said.

Regal Stone has declined to name the crew members involved in the incident, or identify their lawyers.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)