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Pilot had concerns before spill. |
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Tuesday, 13 November 2007 04:34 |
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The pilot of the cargo ship that hit the Bay Bridge on Wednesday and released an oil spill had many concerns about the ship's navigation tools and the thick fog that morning, causing a 90-minute delay in the ship's departure from Oakland, a National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman said Monday night.
The new information came as NTSB investigators provided the most detailed report so far of the version of events bar pilot Capt. John Cota gave to them.
Cota told them that as he approached the bridge, navigating the 900-foot Chinese container ship en route to South Korea, the radar produced distorted pictures on the electronic display. When he switched to electronic charts, he found discrepancies that he tried to work out with the ship's captain as the bow's lookout radioed that the Bay Bridge's tower loomed ahead.
It was also learned Monday that the Cosco Busan, which dumped 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay after hitting the Bay Bridge, was attached to a tugboat at the time.
The tugboat, an added layer of safety that was not required, apparently was not asked - or may have been unable - to steer the vessel clear of the bridge in time.
With the cause of the accident still a mystery, the fact that the tug was not able to prevent the collision could indicate that the pilot and crew didn't realize the ship was dangerously off course, experts familiar with the case said Monday.
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