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Article: Ship pilot pleads not guilty in Cosco Busan federal case: San Francisco spill largest in two decades.(ALASKA and PACIFIC)
- Article from:
- National Fisherman
- Article date:
- June 1, 2008
- Author:
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The pilot of the containership that smashed into the San Francisco Bay bridge last year, causing the largest oil spill in the bay in 20 years, has pleaded not guilty to breaking two federal environmental laws.
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Capt. John Cota, 60, of Petaluma, Calif., was in charge of the Cosco Busan when it struck a bridge support last November, tearing a 90-foot gash in the ship's hull and dumping close to 60,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the water. The oil fouled 40 miles of shoreline, closing many public beaches and all commercial and recreational fishing. The spill also killed or injured thousands of birds, some of which were federally ...