The insurance company that's paid some of the legal bills for the pilot of a ship that spilled 53,000 gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay has asked a federal court to decide whether it must continue to do so, now that the case has turned into a criminal matter.

A commission that licenses pilots who guide commercial ships through San Francisco Bay would lose some of its independence under a bill moving through the state Legislature.

Guiding ships through the San Francisco Bay, with its bridges and treacherous currents, is a high-stakes business. But the board that oversees the ship pilots who ply these waters is a low-profile state agency that has operated largely under the radar for decades.