COSCO BUSAN: Cota's Attorneys File Motions

On Friday of last week, John Cota's attorneys filed three motions in the criminal case against him pending in the Northern District of California. Two motions were made to dismiss on his behalf and a third motion, intended to sever the misdemeanor charges from the felony charges, was also filed. The motions will be heard on July 18 and trial has now been set for October 20th.

Lawyers for pilot John Cota now argue that two charges of making false statements and one charge of polluting the bay should be dismissed because they fail to state a cause of action, are legally insufficient and because the Court lacks jurisdiction. For example, in the felony charges, the Government alleges that Capt. Cota's omissions in January of 2006 and 2007 of several prescription drugs from the Coast Guard physical exam form for ship's officers constituted a violation of US law and perjury, whereas that form was one required by the State Board of Pilot Commissioners for their annual State pilot license physicals by the Board's own approved doctors, not for renewal of Cota's Coast Guard license. His attorneys further claim that the Coast Guard regulations don't even require use of that particular form for the physicals needed for the Coast Guard license renewals.

As far as the criminal negligence charge under the Clean Water Act is concerned, the motions state that Cota was not negligent because sole fault lay with the vessel due to incompetence of the ship's crew, who had only 2 weeks before been assigned to the ship and did not know how to operate her navigational equipment in order assist the pilot, which assistance is required by law. Cota further maintains that, by maritime law, a pilot is only an advisor to the Master and not in control of the ship to the crew's exclusion.

Cota is scheduled to go on trial in court on October 20 on the three charges, as well as a fourth count of killing migratory birds with the spilled oil. Cota was piloting the Cosco Busan when the vessel allided with the protective fender of the Bay Bridge on November 7 of last year. The accident caused the spill of about 54,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco bay.

Just recently, the owner of the COSCO BUSAN came out swinging against those who would blame the operator for the major San Francisco Bay oil spill last year. Alleging negligence and misconduct by the U.S. government, the response of Hong Kong-based Regal Stone directly contradicts a lawsuit filed earlier by the Justice Department which claims the owner and the pilot of the COSCO BUSAN broke environmental laws when the ship struck a bridge support and spilled 53,000 gallons of oil in the bay.