Hong Kong Firm Fined $10M for San Francisco Bay Bridge Oil Spill

Fleet Management Ltd. also pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of justice and false statement charges for creating false and forged documents after the crash at the direction of shore-based supervisors with an intent to deceive the U.S. Coast Guard.

Today's guilty pleas were made as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. government that is subject to approval by Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

If the plea terms are approved by the court, Fleet has agreed to pay a total $10 million criminal penalty. Of this amount, $2 million would be devoted to fund marine environmental projects in San Francisco Bay.

Gash in the Cosco Busan caused by bridge collision. November 11, 2007. (Photo by FogCityFog)

The collision caused a gash measuring 150 feet long by 12 feet high on the port side of the ship, puncturing two of the ship's fuel tanks and damaging the fendering system on the Delta tower of the bridge, and resulting in a significant environmental clean-up.

At least 2,000 migratory birds died, including brown pelicans, marbled murrelets and Western grebes. The brown pelican is a federally endangered species and the marbled murrelet is a federally threatened species and an endangered species under California law.

The pilot of the Cosco Busan, Captain John Cota, was recently sentenced to 10 months in prison, one year of supervised release and 200 hours of community service for his role in causing the Cosco Busan collision and discharge of oil and deaths of migratory birds.

"Today's guilty plea by Fleet, combined with the recent sentencing of the ship's pilot, sends a signal to the maritime industry that the government recognizes that navigation of large vessels is a serious undertaking and that those who fail to adequately train, execute and supervise their responsibilities will be held accountable," said John Cruden, acting assistant attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

"Fleet engaged in criminal conduct when shore-based supervisors directed the fabrication of false and forged documents to deceive investigators and hide its own culpability," Cruden said.

In pleading guilty, Fleet admitted that after the ship hit the Bay Bridge, it concealed ship records and created materially false, fictitious and forged documents with an intent to influence the Coast Guard's investigation.

In particular, a false berth-to-berth passage plan for the day of the crash was created after the incident at the direction of shore-side supervisors known as superintendents and with the knowledge of the ship's master. Additionally, a ship officer falsified the ship's official navigational chart to show fixes that were not actually recorded during the voyage. Other records including false passage planning checklists were also created after the fact.

The plea agreement calls for Fleet to implement a comprehensive compliance plan that would include heightened training and voyage planning for ships engaged in trade in the United States. The new training and voyage planning requirements will be subject to auditing and the court's supervision.

"This criminal prosecution emphasizes that vessel managers have the responsibility to train and supervise its crews and to follow required procedures," said Joseph Russoniello, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. "Fleet failed to meet its obligation under international law to ensure the crew was adequately trained on navigation procedures and equipment."

According to the factual statement signed by Fleet, the crew of the vessel was not adequately familiar with certain ship-specific navigational equipment, did not engage in a berth-to-berth passage planning process or prepare written berth-to-berth passage plans, did not conduct an adequate Master – Pilot exchange of information, did not fully utilize or operate the ship's radar and electronic chart system, and did not take fixes during the voyage.

Sentencing has been scheduled for December 11, 2009

Copyright Environment News Service, ENS, 2009. All rights reserved.