SF’ist blog has sent us this breaking news item: The Cosco Busan is now departing shipyard in San Francisco.
UPDATES:
Our friends at Jakota and BoatingSF have cleaned up the popular flash based track of Cosco Busan’s fateful voyage.
View the animation HERE
The International Herald Tribune tells us;
The Hong Kong-based owner of a ship that spilled oil in San Francisco Bay has paid the federal government nearly $80 million (€55 million) as bail of sorts while U.S. officials seek a civil judgment, the Justice Department said Friday.
The government asked for and received $79.5 million (€54.8 million) — the full value of the ship — as the maritime equivalent of a release bond, said Andrew Ames, a department spokesman.
The deposit eliminates the government’s threat to seize the vessel, which could have cost taxpayers significant money, Ames said. The threat was part of a lawsuit filed last month by the federal government against the ship’s owner, Regal Stone Ltd.; Capt. John Cota, the pilot; and Regal Stone’s insurance company. Continue Reading…
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
The Coast Guard has asked Cota to voluntarily deposit his federal merchant marine officer’s license with the service on grounds he is not physically competent to maintain it.
Cota, however, has turned his license in to his lawyer. According to Coast Guard spokesman Dan Dewell, the service has accepted this arrangement with the stipulation that Cota will not sail with the license.
Cota, 60, has 26 years experience as a San Francisco bar pilot. Continue Reading…
Fred Fry brings us news that “Over 100 liable for COSCO BUSAN Oil Spill“;
In addition to financial compensation, the suit seeks an injunction requiring defendants to implement a plan to assess, monitor, and remediate all damages caused by the spill. Defendants include the owner, operator, manager, pilot, and John Does 1-100.
You can find a copy of the suit here. (Direct Pdf link here)
He’s not kidding when he says that they are suing everyone. Of note is this comment about 100 John Does who the City of San Francisco also named as defendants:
The true names or capacities, whether individual, corporate, associate, or otherwise, of DOE I through DOE 100 are unknown to plaintiffs, who therefore sue such defendants by such fictitious names, and who will amend this complaint to show their true names and capacities when ascertained. Continue Reading…
We reported last week the Board Of Pilot’s decision to formally charge Captain Cota for a list of safety related infractions. Today we have received copies of the official accusation;
At about 0600 on Wednesday, 07 November 2007, Captain Cota boarded the M/V COSCO BUSAN at Oakland Berth 56 to act as its pilot for its transit from Berth 56 to sea. The vessel was scheduled to sail at 0630.
