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Captain behind oil spill charged with negligence

The pilot of a ship that spilled thousands of liters of oil into San Francisco Bay last November was charged by federal prosecutors on Monday with criminal negligence and breaking environmental laws.

Captain John Cota could face up to 18 months in jail and more than US$100,000 in fines if convicted of the misdemeanor charges, which include harming migrant birds protected by the government and violating the Clean Water Act. Cota was not taken into custody, according to court papers.

Cota was at the helm of the container ship Cosco Busan when it struck a fender protecting a support tower beneath the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Nov. 7. The ship emptied 200,620 liters of oil into the fragile bay, killing thousands of birds and closing more than a dozen beaches.

The charges filed in US District Court in San Francisco accuse Cota of failing to safely guide the container ship through the bay. Specifically, the government says Cota failed to use the ship's radar as he approached the Bay Bridge; failed to adequately review the proposed course with the captain; and failed to use navigational aids that might have helped him avoid a disaster.

"These failures led to the Cosco Busan striking the bridge and spilling the oil," the Justice Department said in a statement.

He told investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board that he relied upon his radar when fog closed in on the ship that morning. But, he said, the radar became "distorted" and "unreliable," so he switched to the ship's electronic charting system.

Cota also told investigators he reviewed the electronic charts with the Chinese captain before departing.

US Attorney Joseph Russoniello said he would not rule out the possibility that others will be charged, but he declined to name any individuals.

A handful of Chinese citizens who were members of the Cosco Busan crew are under a court order to remain in region while several investigations unfold because they are material witnesses, Russoniello said.

That court order, which keeps the unidentified Chinese men here more than four months after the incident, is in part what prompted prosecutors to file charges, he said.

"The court which issued the material witness orders was directing us basically to get on with this, get on with the process of [obtaining] the testimony," Russoniello said.

Several weeks after the crash, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit accusing Cota and the ship's owner, Hong Kong-based Regal Stone Ltd., of violating the National Marine Sanctuary Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Park System Resource Protection Act. The suit accuses the defendants of "fault, negligence and breach of federal safety and operating regulations."

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages to compensate taxpayers for the federal response to the spill. It said the sum of those damages "is not known and shall be established according to proof at the time of trial."

As a result of the Cosco Busan spill, an estimated 2,000 birds died, including federally endangered brown pelicans, which are endangered under California law.
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