Some more events unfolded yesterday in the case of the Cosco Busan allision with the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Fleet Management Ltd., the vessels operating company, plead guilty to two misdemeanor criminal charges and admitted it was partly to blame for the spill of 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay.
If accepted, the guilty plea would also expose Fleet Management Ltd. to damages for the costs of the November 2007 spill and cleanup.
Fleet Management has also been charged with six felonies for allegedly concealing its navigation plans for the Cosco Busan and fabricating documents after the spill to interfere with the investigation. Its trial is scheduled for Sept. 14.
A massive 328-foot crane arrived in San Francisco Bay last week to start working on the Bay Bridge’s eastern span project. The crane, called the “Left Coast Lifter“, was built specifically for the Bay Bridge project in Shanghai, China and is the biggest floating crane ever to hit the west coast. It arrived aboard the MV ZHEN HUA 22 and passed under the Golden Gate bridge en route to Pier 7 in Oakland, where it will be tested before being moved into position at the Bay Bridge.
The crane’s boom is 328 feet long, weighs approximately 992 tons and is capable of lifting over 1,800 tons of materials. At a height of about 30 stories, the West Coast Lifter will tower 150 feet over the existing bridges roadway.
The recent accidents on the waters of San Francisco Bay has triggered the attention of maritime afficiando and many others. 7 November 2007 the COSCO BUSAN allided with the San Francisco Bay Bridge and spilled thousands of gallons of fuel oil in the bay. On 11 January 2008 the barge CASCADE allided with the bridge at Point San Quentin and in the early morning hours of Wednesday 16 January the tug TRIG LIND with a barge carrying sand navigated its way into a bridge on the Petaluma River. On 14 February an inbound container ship lost power near Fisherman’s Wharf and drifted until tugs arrived.
COSCO BUSAN was piloted by a San Francisco Bar Pilot. The oil barge CASCADE was being towed by PACIFIC WOLF and the DELTA DEANNE and was exempt from mandatory pilotage; one of the tug captains was in charge of the navigation and movement of the flotilla. In the early morning hours the 71 foot tug TRIG LIND with a 206 foot loaded barge allided with the railroad bridge and caused minor damage.
The COSCO BUSAN allision investigation is reported complete as far as the state is concerned. 1 of 2 USCG Incident Specific Preparedness Review (ISPR) reports has been published. A California state Administrative Law Judge hearing has been set for 28 April 2008.That hearing will attempt to determine the cause, find fault and make recommendation to the governing agency, the SF Bar Pilot Commission. Thereafter, state and federal agencies will determine the parties considered negligent and or responsible and will undertake appropriate action as permitted by law. Later the state of California et al, will sue the COSCO BUSAN and the bar pilot for damages etc. Monetary awards will be adjudicated. Politicians will make rules. The cause, human error, will be announced but the reasons may never be fully explained, however there are plausible explanation for all the reported alleged facts.
The CASCADE’s allision with the bridge at Point San Quentin (San Rafael-Richmond Bridge) presents a different situation. The tug PACIFIC WOLF, an 111 foot, 4100 horsepower tug and the CASCADE an OPA 90 double hull 300 foot barge are reported to be owned and operated by K-Sea Transportation. The tug DELTA DEANNE a tractor tug,108 feet in length with 4400 horsepower is owned by BayDelta Maritime. The grieved appears to be the bridge i.e., the state of California. Responsibility and fault will have to be determined. Courts have defined the duties and responsibilities of tug masters and therefore the question of who was in charge will be of primary concern.
The number of recent accidents involving petroleum product is unquestionably going to generate political rhetoric and probably some unnecessary rule making unless [Continue Reading →]
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