Dec 6, 2007 7:01 pm US/Pacific
Misconduct Charges Filed Against Bay Spill Pilot
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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The Cosco Busan was coming from Oakland when it hit the Delta Tower on the Bay Bridge.
CBS
A state agency that licenses Northern California ship pilots formally accused the pilot of the Cosco Busan of misconduct Thursday in the events that led to a 58,000-gallon oil spill in San Francisco Bay.
Capt. John Cota was piloting the 900-foot container ship in dense fog early Nov. 7 when it struck the fendering system of a Bay Bridge tower, opening a gash in the ship's side and leaking toxic bunker fuel into the water. The spill killed hundreds of birds and closed more than a dozen area beaches.
The Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun accused Cota of setting out that morning when he should have had "reason to doubt whether the ship could safely proceed under the prevailing circumstances and proceeding on his course with insufficient information about the level of visibility along his intended route."
Cota told the National Transportation Safety Board that his two radars showed signs of trouble and that he was unclear on certain symbols on his electronic charting system before the ship departed the Port of Oakland on the foggy morning.
Cota was also charged by the board with traveling at an excessive speed and "failing to make use of all available resources."
The board said he failed to take advantage of a tugboat that was escorting him; failed to ask the U.S. Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service, which was tracking the Cosco Busan's movements, for guidance; and failed to make full use of the ship's lookout.
"The Board's Incident Review Committee has carried out a thorough investigation resulting in the charges filed today," board president Knute Michael Miller said. "We will proceed judiciously to determine whether Capt. Cota was negligent and whether he should be allowed to continue piloting on San Francisco Bay," he said.
The board had suspended Cota's license last week, and he could have his license to pilot ships premanently revoked.
Cota has 15 days to respond to the accusations in writing and to request a hearing. If he requests a hearing, the board has the options to hear the case itself, or to submit the matter to an administrative law judge.
Such a hearing could come as early as January, according to the board.
Cota's lawyer, John Meadows, did not immediately return phone calls for comment Thursday.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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