Cosco Busan spilled 53,500 gallons because nobody checked the pilot

On November 7, 2007, the 901-foot container ship Cosco Busan, leaving Oakland in dense fog, struck the Delta tower of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, tearing a gash in its hull and releasing about 53,500 gallons of bunker fuel into the bay. No one was hurt, but 26 miles of shoreline were contaminated and more than 2,500 birds of some 50 species died.

The NTSB found the pilot's degraded cognitive performance from impairing prescription medications, the absence of a pre-departure master/pilot exchange, and the master's ineffective oversight caused the allision. It also cited Fleet Management Ltd.'s failure to train the crew to understand and follow its safety management system, and the Coast Guard's failure to oversee the pilot's medical fitness.

The NTSB estimated damages at $2.1 million for the ship, $1.5 million for the bridge, and more than $70 million for environmental cleanup; the spill also closed a fishery and delayed the crab season.

53,500 gallons of fuel spilled; $70 million+ cleanup; 2,500+ birds killed; fisheries closed; $10 million criminal fine and a prison sentence for the pilot.

The pilot was on impairing prescription drugs and unfit to navigate in fog.

No pre-departure master/pilot exchange, and the master never took effective control.

Fleet Management failed to train the crew in its own safety management system.

The Coast Guard did not act on the pilot's reported medication.

Hiring an expert doesn't end oversight: nobody challenged an impaired pilot, and the crew weren't trained to take over. Verify the contractor's fitness — their error is still your accident.

Pilot John Cota pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Fleet Management Ltd. pleaded guilty to obstruction, making false statements, and negligent discharge of oil, and agreed to pay a $10 million fine; it also faced civil suits from fishermen and bay cities. The NTSB issued recommendations to the Coast Guard, Fleet Management, and pilot organizations on medical oversight and bridge-team management.