The pilot of the container ship Cosco Busan that struck a Bay Bridge tower and caused a 58,000-gallon oil spill into the San Francisco Bay was charged on Monday with violating environmental laws. According to the charges, John J. Cota is responsible for lacunose maneuvers that caused the spill and further damages that at the time have been estimated to millions of dollars.

In addition to the extensive cleanup, the spill was also the starting point for many discussions about the intervention after the incident. At least 2000 birds were killed, including specimens belonging to endangered species of brown pelicans and marbled murrelets.

The pilot is accused of not revising the course of the ship, the navigational charts and the radar upon approaching the tower and furthermore, didn’t adjust the ship’s speed to the foggy conditions that day. At the same time, John J. Cota is accused of breaking both the Clean Air Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

"While piloting the ship from port in heavy fog, he failed to pilot a collision-free course and failed to adequately review the proposed course with the Captain and crew on official navigational charts," the Justice Department said,” as quoted by Reuters. Cota faces up to 18 months in jail and $115,000 fine.

His defense lawyer said the charges were premature: “Captain Cota is a qualified, experienced pilot, who has worked on the San Francisco Bay for almost 27 years. He literally has safely assisted thousands of ships in and out of the Bay throughout his career,”as quoted by the same source. “We strongly believe that once all of the evidence is heard, a jury will find in Captain Cota’s favor.”

On November 7, The Cosco Busan container ship struck a Bay Bridge tower and 58,000 gallons of oil leaked into the San Francisco Bay. Approximately 2,000 birds were found dead after the spill, and other 648 died after being rescued. The costs of the cleanup and recovery were estimated at $61 million, and the operations will continue until at least May 2008.