November 7, 2007
Photos: Cosco Busan Oil and Water Don't Mix
But, and we hate to admit it, they sure do look pretty together. (The image above has been set as our desktop background!) But as attractive as oil and water looks on rain-soaked driveways and in Carmel-y art pieces, it's not worth it when it's in our Bay. It tends to cause inexcusable damage. (Where, like, fish and mermaids and stuff totally die, you know.) Take, for example, this morning's container ship that rammed into the Bay Bridge.
Rob Roberts, a lieutenant with the state Department of Fish and Game, claims that the a total of 140 gallons of fuel spilled from today's ship/Bay Bridge smash. It will take about a month to clean up, and by midday today, some fuel had already reached Pier One [under the Embarcadero] in San Francisco. Read more about it here.
More pictures of the oil spillage after the jump.
image credit: Bob Brigham
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what the fuck good are the harbor pilots if this shit happens when one of them is onboard?????
suckafree- those harbor pilots are on every ship that you see transiting the bay. not only that but they bring ships in from sea 365 days a year 24/7. it might be a little to early to start pointing fingers at the pilot. i think it's a shame that there is any environmental damage but these guys are performing a vital service to our economy.
I'm with Suckafree 100%.
This NEVER would have happened if we had someone like Tugboat Annie in charge.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hangfirebooks/1307073969/
well i hope they are treating this as serious as it really is. this harbor pilot should be on administrative leave and he should have been given a drug test just like an officer involved shooting that killed someone. this is bigtime!
how a guy that does this shit 24x7/365 doesn't know where those pilings are and have access to gps and radar and all that other fun shit on a multi million dollar container ship is beyond me.
i hope for his sake he was drunk. otherwise, he just wasn't paying attention, the worst crime of all.
btw, i can see the starboard side of this ship since they anchored it out in the bay not too far from my place. there's a coast guard cutter circling it. i'll try to take a picture later if they move it and i can see the damage.
I'm with suckafree on this one, too.
More pics up
nicely done bob
that sign should say no smoking too
Not to sound like a salty old sea dog or anything, but piloting a boat this size is not like driving a semi. It's not like the guy didn't know the pilings were there, but they make their navigation decisions, plot their course then pretty much have to sit back and watch it all happen. If the current shifts or the wind picks up, there's nothing much they can do about it. It's a bridge/ship makeout session.
Oh, and remember THIS IS SAN FRANCISCO. WHY HAS NO ONE BLAMED PIRATES YET? AAAAAAAAAARGH!
We can't blame pirates in SF.
After all, pirates are homeless and just doing some aggressive panhandle work.
They have rights too.
that's a common misperception fizz, and totally bogus. i've been stuck in that channel at dusk on a sunday afternoon trying to get a broken jib to furl back in with no luck. one of these container ships was bearing down on us and easily maneuvered around us. scared the shit out of us but it was obvious he must have been watching us and just went around. if not for that, i probably wouldn't be able to type this story and would still believe that these behemoths are as unmaneuverable as everyone else does.
i just exchanged a few emails with henry lee from the chronicle. he's going to go after the pilot.
I urge everyone to contact the governor of California today and urge him to take possession of the Cosco Busan, the ship that hit the Bay Bridge on Wednesday and causing 58,000 gallons of oil to be dumped into the bay.
This oil that spilled will take a heavy toll on sea life, many species that are already struggling for existence have been effected including:
-- California brown pelican
-- Murres
-- Humpbacked whales
and many others. Many animals caught in this mess will experience a terrible death. Some will be saved at great financial cost.
The owners of this ship may never be held accountable for this damage to our state unless the state takes possession of the ship. A complex paper trail to the owners of this ship may mean the they will never be found leaving us to pay for the damages.
Today I sent an email to governor urging him to take possession of this ship as well as pursue legislation that would be it easier to identify ship owners involved in catastrophes and hold them accountable.
I urge you to do the same, you may contact the governor through this link:
http://gov.ca.gov/interact
My email to the governor:
I urge the state of California to take possession of the container ship Cosco Busan.
Because it is difficult to identify the owners of this ship, the ship itself must be confiscated. I also urge the governor to pursue legislation that would make it easier to identify the owners of such ships that come into state waters.
Accountability for the damage this ship is essential to prevent future incidents. The owners of this ship have caused a terrible injury to this state and the citizens should not have to pay for their liability.
Dustin