Pilot in S.F. Bay oil spill faces charges

The pilot of the cargo ship that sideswiped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in November and spilled 58,000 gallons of fuel oil was charged Monday with criminal negligence and violating two federal environmental laws.

Capt. John J. Cota, 60, was charged in federal court in San Francisco with one count each of violating the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, both misdemeanors.

Cota was at the helm Nov. 7 when the 900-foot Cosco Busan hit the base of a bridge tower in heavy fog, gashing the hull and leaking oil into San Francisco Bay. The spill spread around the bay and into coastal waters beyond the Golden Gate, blackening seabirds, briefly shutting down the fishery and prompting a massive cleanup.

In December, Cota gave up his operating license, Coast Guard officials said. He had been employed as a pilot in the Bay Area since 1981.

The spill from the 65,000-ton cargo ship killed 2,000 birds, including marbled murrelets and Western grebes. The marbled murrelet is a federally threatened species and an endangered species under California law, federal authorities said.

The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, and the maximum penalty for a misdemeanor violation of the bird treaty act is six months’ imprisonment and a $15,000 fine.

Cota’s attorney blasted federal officials for filing criminal charges in what he considered a case of human error.

“It is regrettable and unfortunate that the Department of Justice has taken this action. Why is the government criminalizing this incident, when the U.S. Coast Guard itself recognizes that ‘Maritime mishaps require a … chain of errors and causes,’ ” attorney Jeff Bronstein said in a written statement.

He called Cota a qualified and experienced pilot. “He literally has safely assisted thousands of ships in and out of the bay throughout his career,” the statement said. Cota “cares deeply about the San Francisco Bay and its ecosystem and is deeply distressed about what happened on Nov. 7.”

Government attorneys said Cota failed to review the proposed course with the captain and crew on navigational charts.

He also failed to use the ship’s radar as he approached the Bay Bridge, use positional fixes or verify the ship’s position using official aids of navigation throughout the voyage, they said.

john.glionna@latimes.com