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John Cota News

27 Apr 2012

Container Ship Owner Sues Pharmacists

The owners and operators of a container ship that slammed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007 and spilled thousands of gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay have sued the Northern California pharmacists they claim negligently dispensed prescription drugs to the pilot of the Cosco Busan, according to news in 'The Washington Post'. The ship’s owner, Regal Stone Ltd., and operator Fleet Management Ltd. Alleged in court papers filed in San Francisco Superior Court Friday that the pills “recklessly” provided by pharmacists at a Longs drug store in Petaluma, Calif. had so clouded pilot John Cota’s judgment and dulled his reflexes that they led to the crash.

20 Jul 2009

Prison Sentence For Cosco Busan Pilot

John Joseph Cota, the pilot who caused the Cosco Busan, a 900-ft long container ship, to collide with the San Francisco Bay Bridge and discharge approximately 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay, was sentenced to serve 10 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston for the Northern District of California, the Justice Department announced. Cota, who was a licensed bar pilot at the time of the collision, gave commands that caused the 65,131-ton Hong Kong-registered ship to collide with the bridge on Nov. 7, 2007. Cota was sentenced according to an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to negligently causing discharge of a harmful quantity of oil in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA)…

15 Jul 2009

Hearing for Fleet Management Pilot

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, federal prosecutors told a judge that the pilot of the container ship that struck the Bay Bridge in November 2007 ignored basic safety precautions, lied to licensing authorities about his prescription drug use, and should be sentenced to 10 months in prison, the maximum recommended by his plea agreement. Capt. John Cota's lawyers asked for a two-month sentence, the minimum term in the plea agreement, and argued that prosecutors were making the 61-year-old pilot a scapegoat in "an accident with many causes." Their papers were filed Friday with U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who is scheduled to sentence Cota this Friday. A court probation officer has recommended a $30,000 fine – which Cota's lawyers accepted – and a three-month sentence.

09 Mar 2009

Guilty Plea in Case of Cosco Busan Ship Pilot

John Joseph Cota, a California ship pilot, pleaded guilty on March 6 to negligently causing the discharge of approximately 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay in violation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a law enacted in the wake of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Cota, who piloted the M/V Cosco Busan when it hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007, also pleaded guilty to violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the death of protected migratory birds. If the plea terms are accepted by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, Cota will be sentenced to serve between two and ten months in prison and be fined between $3,000 to $30,000.

08 Jan 2009

CA Files Suit Against Cosco Busan

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed a lawsuit today on behalf of the California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response, State Lands Commission and State Water Boards against the owners, operators and pilot of the M/V Cosco Busan, the shipping vessel that spilled more than 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay. “This was a preventable accident that had tragic consequences,” Attorney General Brown said. On November 7, 2007, the Cosco Busan, piloted by John Cota, hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s Delta Tower. The crash caused approximately 53,569 of gallons of oil to spew into San Francisco Bay and spread to the Pacific Ocean and along Bay Area shorelines.

25 Jul 2008

Cosco Busan Management Company Charged

A federal grand jury in returned a second superseding indictment charging Fleet Management Limited, a ship management company, with negligently causing the discharge of 50,000 gallons of oil from the Cosco Busan and falsifying documents after the crash to cover-up the company’s negligence, the Justice Department announced today. Fleet Management, the company responsible for operating the Cosco Busan, was charged with six felony counts for making false statements and obstruction justice. According to the indictment, Fleet Management, acting through senior ship officers and shore-based supervisory officials, concealed and covered-up documents with an intent to impede, obstruct and influence the investigation of the spill. The falsified documents include a fictitious passage plan for Nov.