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Oil spill pilot surrenders license to lawyer

CommentsComment on this article
Dec 12, 2007 3:25 PM (356 days ago) Wire Reports, AP
This story ranks Not ranked
Related Topics: SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The Coast Guard has given the pilot who was at the helm of the ship that rammed a Bay Bridge support tower extra time to hand over his federal license.

The Coast Guard had asked Capt. John Cota to voluntarily surrender the license by Tuesday, but after receiving a request for an extension, the agency is giving him more time.

As condition of the extension, a lawyer for Cota is holding the license with the agreement that Cota will not sail on the basis of that license. That means Cota cannot serve in any other roles on the big ships, such as master or engineer.

The Nov. 7 incident caused the ship to spill 58,000 gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay. Several investigations are under way.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Comments from Examiner Readers

11:32 PM MST on Wed., Jul. 2, 2008 re: "Ship pilot to retire as probe into crash continues"

 Examiner Reader said:
$450,000 per year sounds like an awful lot of money...and $150,000 per year retirement alot too...are these figures real ?....or typos ?

1 agree | 3 disagree
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4:19 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 4, 2008 re: "Lawyer: Bay Spill Pilot Won't Testify"

 Rachel Hernandez said:
We all know a defendant doesn't have to testify against himself by rule of law. We also all know that defendants who refuse to testify are usually GUILTY.

 1 agree | 1 disagree
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3:53 PM MST on Sat., Dec. 15, 2007 re: "Federal government obtains $79.5 security on Cosco Busan"

 Uncle Ho said:
Cash the check, keep the ship and tell COSCO, (China Ocean Shipping Company), to get stuffed. What are they going to do, stop shipping lead painted toys to the US.

 42 agree | 47 disagree
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7:21 AM MST on Sat., Dec. 8, 2007 re: "Board accuses pilot of misconduct in SF bay spill collision"

 Examiner Reader said:
Certainly a lot of oil spills in the last few weeks. Any common denominators?

 47 agree | 40 disagree
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12:08 PM MST on Tue., Dec. 4, 2007 re: "San Francisco crabbers stay off water, oil spill probe continues"

 Examiner Reader said:
The San Francisco Bay pilots should all be equipped with 21st century technology.Accidents such as the Cosco Busan happen much too often in the world because of continued reliance on a 19th century approach - the best judgement of a single individual which may not have all the information needed to performed his task safely-. Piloting a ship can no longer be considered an art, but a hightech and risky undertaking. Why are the Bay pilots not equipped with their own Portable Piloting Units that are widely available on the technology market and used in many location around the world including the United States? Defies logic.

 40 agree | 38 disagree
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4:33 PM MST on Mon., Dec. 3, 2007 re: "Sen. Boxer releases bills aimed at preventing oil spills"

 ALICIA said:
I would like to know why these Senators put all this energy and time into an accidental oil spill and not towards human life. Do they see whats sleeping on the streets of San Francisco...Its human beings. I have seen all this effort in this oil spill, can they answer why a HUMAN LIFE Is of no importance to them. I guess they dont care because they lay their heads down on a pillow at night. I have never seen Politicians dismiss life, the way they do the Homeless. Having a Home Is Not A Privlage, but a necessity. From Pelosi to Boxer to Newscom, only think of the RICH!!!!!!

 45 agree | 47 disagree
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6:40 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 30, 2007 re: "State lawmakers criticize response to San Francisco Bay oil spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
I feel good knowing that Carole Migden will be the "driving force" behind this investigation.

 48 agree | 43 disagree
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12:08 AM MST on Tue., Nov. 20, 2007 re: "Tides May Worsen San Francisco Oil Spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
The looney Democrats haven't blamed President Bush for the oil spill because they wonder if he could even spot the bay on a map.

 80 agree | 93 disagree
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9:37 PM MST on Mon., Nov. 19, 2007 re: "Congressional hearing probes San Francisco Bay oil spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
I agree with 9:41. It's great that Congress is taking this seriously. It's bad enough that the bay is already polluted (while the local orgs and residents continue to find ways to purify the waters), but to have these preventable accidents occur and add to our pollution is astonishing. Hopefully, there will be quick resolution to those accountable and the message delivered is strong and clear: Don't pollute our bay and compromise the living things that live in the area! Seems we need to concentrate our efforts on repairing the damage, conservation, and prevention.

 83 agree | 99 disagree
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1:49 PM MST on Mon., Nov. 19, 2007 re: "Congress in S.F. to probe oil spill"

 Ooo-ree-bay said:
How much you wanna bet that when all is said and done it turns out to be a "miscommunication" between the pilot and CG (who speak English) and the crew (who don't, but are supposed to)?

 103 agree | 137 disagree
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8:11 PM MST on Sun., Nov. 18, 2007 re: "Tides May Worsen San Francisco Oil Spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
I'm confused. How come the looney Democrats haven't blamed Bush for this?

 78 agree | 89 disagree
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9:41 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 16, 2007 re: "Under fire anew, Coast Guard says pilots, captains responsible for ships"

 Examiner Reader said:
Clearly the fault is with the pilot. It has been determined the ship's instruments and radar were working at the time. The pilot's job is to steer the ship through the bay but instead he steered the ship into the bridge. Bottom line, the pilot is at fault for the collision and the coast guard is at fault for a slow response.

 106 agree | 110 disagree
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8:31 PM MST on Thu., Nov. 15, 2007 re: "San Francisco crabbers stay off water, oil spill probe continues"

 To Interested Reader said:
One news report I heard said the bridge was fine, because what the boat hit was not the bridge itself but a fender designed to protect the bridge. Of course, if that's true, it's sloppy not to mention irresponsible for news stories to say the boat hit the bridge, as this one does. Good work and thank you to the fender folks: that's a bright spot in a story that seems to consist of one incompetency after another.

 111 agree | 105 disagree
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2:12 PM MST on Thu., Nov. 15, 2007 re: "Ship's crew held for questioning in probe of SF Bay oil spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
Yeah, I'm with examiner critic 8:11 am., where has our mayor been through all this?

 91 agree | 83 disagree
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8:11 AM MST on Thu., Nov. 15, 2007 re: "Feds Want to View Bay Area Spill Damage"

 examiner critic said:
When someone finds the mayor, please ask him to make sure this doesn't happen with a tanker by not allowing them to navigate the bay in rough or poor visibility conditions.

 88 agree | 100 disagree
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1:00 PM MST on Mon., Nov. 12, 2007 re: "Ship's crew held for questioning in probe of SF Bay oil spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
If you can't navigate around something as huge as a pillar on the Bay Bridge in the fog, then you should not put your ship in those waters. At any time. Period.

 95 agree | 79 disagree
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9:54 AM MST on Mon., Nov. 12, 2007 re: "Criminal Probe Opens in Calif. Oil Spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
Solar Energy, Wind Power, batteries, alternative energy!! Fix it!

 114 agree | 81 disagree
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12:43 AM MST on Mon., Nov. 12, 2007 re: "Coast Guard: Human Error Caused Spill"

 Examiner Reader said:
it is an studied work from the chinesse

 105 agree | 83 disagree
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12:42 AM MST on Mon., Nov. 12, 2007 re: "Criminal Probe Opened in Bay Oil Spill"

 J.A.G said:
There most likly a lot of factors involved that caused the crash, What is not exceptable is the lack of response time by the Coast Guard. This is going to take a long time to clean up and the extent of the damage my not be fully realized for years to come. Thoes that are responsible should bare the fullness of the cost to clean this up.

 102 agree | 90 disagree
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8:53 PM MST on Sun., Nov. 11, 2007 re: "Coast Guard: problems on ship bridge referred to U.S. atty"

 Examiner Reader said:
Why detain the ship crew if the bay harbor pilot was in control of the ship? They probably were just following the harbor pilot's directions in unfamiliar waters. It is like fixing blame on an underling who is not familiar with the surroundings and is totally dependent on the harbor pilot to guide the ship in dense fog. Maybe it is a racist situation to blame the foreign crew of a foreign ship for the mistakes made by an American harbor pilot??? No??? It can't be this....

 99 agree | 87 disagree
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10:58 AM MST on Sun., Nov. 11, 2007 re: "Feds Want to View Bay Area Spill Damage"

 Interested reader said:
I haven't read any comments regarding the integrity of the bridge. Has it been adequately inspected? Is it open to traffic? As we saw in MN recently, bridges just fall down. This one was sideswiped by a boat weighing a gazillion pounds. After the Exxon mishap at Valdez, I believe that tankers are required to be double hulled. Does this requirement also apply to a ships fuel tanks? I doubt it. It should be.

 87 agree | 107 disagree
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7:01 AM MST on Sun., Nov. 11, 2007 re: "Feds Want to View Bay Area Spill Damage"

 examiner critic said:
Does anyone know where the mayor is hidding?

 111 agree | 95 disagree
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2:07 PM MST on Sat., Nov. 10, 2007 re: "S.F. Bay Spill Recovery Continues"

 Examiner Reader said:
Ease up. Wanna do something? Don't use oil or products made with or containig it.

 117 agree | 102 disagree
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2:05 PM MST on Sat., Nov. 10, 2007 re: "S.F. Bay Spill Recovery Continues"

 Examiner Reader said:
Just light it up. We'd be better off without Frisco.

 94 agree | 103 disagree
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6:51 AM MST on Sat., Nov. 10, 2007 re: "S.F. Bay Spill Recovery Continues"

 Examiner Reader said:
This is atrocious, unacceptable, and so sad. The oil hasn't even reached the Farallons yet and already there's birds on the island that are covered in oil, distressed. It really highlights how inter-related everything is. It's a shame there aren't more viable alternatives to oil out there. Seems like it should be a priority to encourage more research + development on low-impact alternatives to our oil dependency. Makes me ill that we're still at war (and continuing to fund it) and we're unable to effectively address our oil contamination issues, or even the people still suffering from Katrina and still living in trailers, years later, and those who have been decieved by the mortgage scams and have lost their shirts and life savings in the process...it's ugly, regretable.

 109 agree | 106 disagree
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5:41 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Oil Spill Threatens Bay Area Wildlife"

 Examiner Reader said:
Pure irresposible to lack proceedure and communication onthis issue, DOT laws were violated as well, in addition. An environmental crime that will cost plenty, not just in dollars and cents, but in wildlife and water contaminations. The damages may be irreversable to an extent. Hold them accountable!! Another state of emergency!!

 117 agree | 114 disagree
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5:21 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Oil Spill Threatens Bay Area Wildlife"

 Examiner Reader said:
A ship hits the Bay Bridge at 8:30am and begins leaking thousand of gallons of diesel fuel into the bay and the Mayor doesn't know the full extent of the accident until 10pm that night? No city official has inadvertently turned on their computer, t.v or radio, which creates a media connection to this event? How is that possible?

 109 agree | 91 disagree
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8:35 AM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Cargo Ship's Fuel Fouls Bay Area Beaches"

 West Coast Liberal said:
Can Anyone say Blackwater? I am sure the Koreans will hire the same attorney that got Exxon off the hook in Alaska. This oil spill is a daily occurence around the world. The rape of mother Gaia goes on only now we can see it on our precious turf. Our greed kills. Iraquis, seagulls and herring all dead from our greed and ignorance. Who is to blame? you are filling up your tank now. Maybe we can move to Paraguay with the Bushes after the Apocalypse. Papa was a Nazi spy on the Pampas.

 104 agree | 85 disagree
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7:53 PM MST on Thu., Nov. 8, 2007 re: "Cargo Ship's Fuel Fouls Bay Area Beaches"

 Examiner Reader said:
We know we can't count on the EPA (who clearly cannot be trusted to PROTECT the environment) to fix this mess. It's a positive step that CA sued the feds (and should name Bush along with the suit) today to send the right message. This Bay mess is tragic and to get misleading info??...I hope the City will hold the entity(-ies) fully responsible for this mess + get punitive damages for misleading the public - shameful. And use some of that $$ to address SF environmental issues + how about some lights + bells, something, around the base of the bridge towers. I can't image what it would be like it that cargo ship broke the Bay Bridge. Good grief!

 119 agree | 106 disagree
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