OXNARD : License of Boat Captain Suspended

An Oxnard man had his boat captain’s license suspended after the U. S. Coast Guard found him guilty of misconduct and negligence in the crash of a sport fishing boat off Santa Cruz Island.

Chris Otineru, 23, lost his license for two months in a ruling earlier this month by a federal administrative judge at the 11th Coast Guard District in Long Beach.

Otineru was second captain of the 75-foot China Clipper and was operating the boat early Oct. 12 when it rammed into a cliff on Santa Cruz Island.

Although none of the boat’s 29 passengers were seriously injured, all had to be evacuated quickly following the crash, which tore a six-foot gash in the China Clipper’s hull. The vessel is owned by Channel Islands Sportfishing Center, an Oxnard boat-chartering firm.

The Coast Guard found Otineru guilty of one count of negligence for failing to set a proper course for the vessel, thereby contributing to the wreck, said Lt. Cmdr. Bob Sandoval, a Coast Guard marine safety investigator.

Otineru was also found guilty of two counts of misconduct, one of these for failing to have designated a person to walk around the vessel patrolling it at all times. The other count of misconduct arose from Otineru’s failing to slow the vessel in conditions of limited visibility, Sandoval said.

Although Sandoval said he did not know what the exact weather conditions were at the time of the crash, he said there must have been at least patchy fog.

When Otineru gets his license back in two months, he will go on probation for 10 months. If he breaks any federal laws during his probation, Sandoval said, he will lose his license for an additional six months.