Pilot Charged in San Francisco Oil Spill

The pilot of the Chinese cargo ship that dumped 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay late last year was criminally charged today for violating federal environmental laws. The 27-year veteran pilot, John J. Cota, faces up to 18 months in jail and a $115,000 fine if convicted of negligent discharge of oil and the killing of migratory birds. According to the New York Times, Cota failed to do quite a few seemingly important things – use the ship’s radar, consult with the captain and crew, verify their position – before speeding into the foggy bay on November 7. The ship, the Cosco Busan, crashed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and left behind enough oil to kill 2,000 sea birds, including a number of endangered brown pelicans and marbled murrelets. Nearly twenty years ago, Outside took a look at the high price we sometimes pay at the hands of one distracted skipper and a whole lot of oil. Check it out here.

-Claire Napier Galofaro