Pilot of Boat That Hit Tanker Pleads No Contest
The pilot of a sportfishing boat that collided with a 564-foot tanker outside Los Angeles Harbor last November pleaded no contest at a Coast Guard administrative hearing Tuesday to failure to maintain a proper lookout and failure to navigate with due caution.
Tim Filson, who was piloting the 80-foot fishing boat Shogun, faces possible suspension or revocation of his operating license as a result of the accident, which injured seven passengers and spilled 2,000 gallons of fuel into the ocean. Just before the accident, Filson switched on the boat’s automatic pilot and went below deck.
The pilot of the tanker Antarctic, Capt. Arthur Irish, faces a negligence charge for violating international navigation rules, including failure to give way to a vessel crossing from the tanker’s starboard side and failure to avoid the crash. He faces a Feb. 13 Coast Guard hearing. Judge H.J. Gardner will rule on the Filson case Feb. 7.
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