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Cosco Busan collision has wide ranging aftermath

When Hong Kong based Fleet Management Ltd. recently agreed to pay a $10 million criminal penalty for one of the greatest environmental disasters to strike San Francisco Bay, it marked the latest in a long series of on-going chapters in the Cosco Busan spill.

The Cosco Busan is the 901-foot container ship that struck a support tower of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in thick fog at 8:30 a.m. on November 7th, 2007. The ship scraped along a protective fender for 16 seconds, slicing open two fuel tanks like a can of sardines.

53,500 gallons of heavy bunker oil spilled into the Bay, closing 50 beaches and oiling over 200 miles of shoreline. At least 2,500 birds were killed along with seals and other species of marine life. Fishing and crabbing were shut down for an extended period and shell fish were found to have unsafe levels of cancer-causing hydrocarbons.

$70 million was spent on environmental cleanup, $2.1 million on ship damages and $1.5 million on bridge repairs.

Nearly two years of legal wrangling went by before Fleet Management accepted responsibility for its role in the accident, pleading guilty to negligence in violating the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). The management company also pled to obstruction of justice, making false statements to investigators, and falsifying documents.

The company has promised to implement a strict training voyage program for ships sailing to the U.S. Masters will be instructed on proper procedures for commanding vessels and all bridge officers will undergo shipboard management training.

The other major recent development in the case regards John Cota, the Bar Pilot. Cota, who was prosecuted under pollution and killing of migratory bird statutes, pleaded guilty, fined up to $30,000 and was to have begun a 10 month prison sentence in November.

A report by the California State Board of Pilot Commissioner cited Cota with a series of errors that led to the collision. Those errors included sailing at an unsafe speed in less than 200 feet of visibility, failure to correctly read an electronic navigation chart and pilot errors.

An extensive report produced by the National Transportation Safety Board issued later indicated that Cota’s heavy dependence on prescription medication could have significantly impaired his ability to safely navigate the vessel through the fog. Though a urine sample taken after the accident found no traces of illegal drugs in his system, in the previous two months he had filled prescriptions for Ativan, Compazine, Darvon, Imitrex, Lomotil, Vicodin and several other medications. Some of the drugs are addictive and can affect cognitive abilities.

Investigators concluded that he was intoxicated with prescription drugs at the time of the accident. The Coast Guard was blamed for failing to provide oversight despite having received medical information from Cota.

Cota’s conviction was hardly the end of his punishment. Having lost his state and federal pilot licenses, he still faces several multi-million dollar lawsuits and enormous legal bills.

A wake of lawsuits remains against Fleet Management by Caltrans, fishermen, the cities of Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco, as well as several other parties.


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