Around 120 local fishermen will split $3.65 of a $6 million award in damages won though a class action lawsuit against the parties at fault for the horrific 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill. The spill, if you recall, poured an estimated 53,000 - 58,000 gallons of fuel into the bay after colliding with one of the Bay Bridge’s towers. It also killed scores of wildlife in the process. more ›

HA! The latest development in the grand scandale that is the Gizmodo G4 iPhone exposé debacle, is that the attorney who represented that Cosco Busan pilot who crashed his boat and dumped all that oil in 2007 is representing the alleged iPhone thief, who we now learn is 21-year-old Brian Hogan of Redwood City. The attorney, Jeffrey Bornstein, writes in a statement that Hogan was handed the phone by another patron, after it was found left on a bartstool, and he believed there was nothing wrong with sharing it with a journalist. [SF Examiner] more ›

According to a new study, the threatened species of small, white, dune-dwelling birds known as snowy plovers were especially lucky in surviving the major oil spill by the Cosco Busan in San Francisco Bay in November 2007. After two years of tagging and tracking both oiled and non-oiled snowy plovers, the report found that nearly all the birds survived. In total, approximately 7,000 birds of other species died as a result of the spill, including ducks, cormorants, gulls, and pelicans. In other feel-good, animal-related news, this injured sea lion nicknamed Abignale was rescued near Monterey. more ›

Captain John Cota, who helped steer the Cosco Busan into the Oakland Bay Bridge, causing tons of gunk to spill into the San Francisco Bay, pleaded 'guilty' today to two environmental crimes: oil spilling and bird killing. According to AP, Cota could spend up to 10 months in prison. AP goes on to report that "The National Transportation Safety Board said last month that Cota's prescription medications impaired his performance, but it also blamed other factors for the crash including a poorly trained crew." Cota was officially charged last May. more ›

The blame for the Cosco Busan spill, that tanker accident that resulted in a huge fuel oil spill last year, seems to rest on the shoulders of the ship's captain pilot, John Cota. Or so says the state pilot commission, who concluded their report today. In addition to flying through the fog and not reading electronic maps correctly, the commission basically said he failed "to exercise sound judgment." Not that they can fire him or anything; Cota surrendered his license and retired on Oct. 1. His federal trial, however, starts in November. (SFGate) more ›

Although the National Transportation Safety Board has yet to release its report on the causes of last year's crash, today the pilot of the Cosco Busan, John Joseph Cota of Petaluma, was charged in federal court. The feds, it seems, found him in violation of two federal laws when he accidentally steered the container ship into the Bay Bridge on November 9 2007, which then released 53,000 gallons of oil into the bay. more ›

Oh shit. more ›

No more salmon in Muir Woods? more ›

The first of what will soon be many Cosco Busan reports more ›

Anonymous souces involved with the federal invstigation disclose information about drugs. more ›

Cosco Busan Update: more ›

Oh, those crazy hot-tubbing, wife-swapping, Al Qaeda-loving Marin County folk. It seems that now they're scalping their own children in an effort to tidy up the remaining Cosco Busan oil spill disaster. Students from Larkspur's Marin Primary and Middle School have willing lopped off locks of hair from their nubile heads, then donating said hair to Eco-Cuts, "a program designed by Marin Primary to help in the cleanup effort triggered by the Nov. 7 oil spill in the bay." Their dirty, dirty child hair will then go to Matter of Trust, a San Francisco-based environmental nonprofit that "weaves the hair into mats to soak up oil." According to the Marin Independent: more ›

What a pretty name for a barge, yes? more ›

According to the Coast Guard, "a barge has hit the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge" around 6 p.m. this evening. Yikes! The barge, reportedly carrying 63,000 barrels of heavy black oil, hit the east piling of the west span. So far there are no reports of any injuries or leakage. more ›

Huge Chunk of the Bay Bridge sitting on a beach in Half Moon Bay more ›

The Busan headed out this morning. more ›

The Busan is free to leave. more ›

Vote early, vote often more ›

Guess when the Busan leaves S.F. Bay! more ›

The feds have gotten big bucks for the value of the Busan, so it now has one less hurdle to jump before heading home. more ›

Bon voyag-ee, Cosco Busan! And don't come back! The leaky Cosco Busan ship that contaminated our beautiful bay with oil is expected to get clearance to get the heck outta Frisco, setting sail at noon today to head back to South Korea. more ›

Meet the Board of Pilot Commissioners For the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun more ›

S.F. files against the Cosco Busan more ›

Take a photo tour of a huge abandoned cruise ship that's been sitting around for years more ›

Update: Gale Force winds and a small craft advisory will keep crabbers fisher(people?) off of the Bay. Clearly, God hates us. Bastard. more ›

Just what's up with our least favorite oil spill dilemma, you ask? Let's find out: -- After 29 years of military service, Coast Guard Captain William Uberti will retire after the oil-spill SNAFU is over and done with. According to the Examiner, "Uberti was the region's sector commander when a container ship sideswiped the Bay Bridge in dense fog, dumping 58,000 gallons of thick bunker fuel into the bay." Uberti was soon replaced after... more ›

Audet & Partners, LLP filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of commercial fishers and crab-based (?) businesses in San Francisco on November 20. Today on their site they claim the following, "Breaking News: Cosco Busan Vessel Arrested." Which? Okay then. We have yet to see footage of the vessel getting cuffed by the fuzz with its shirt off, and we can't imagine it heard its Miranda rights being read, but seeing as how... more ›

Photo of a sexy photo shoot in front of a beach closed because of the oil spill more ›

An update on news about the oil spill more ›

The sands of Marin and San Mateo have officially reopened to the public. (We recommend hitting the beach in the fall. There's something luxurious about walking on the beach, bundled up in winter clothing.) What's more, 50 wild birds have been cleaned up and released at Pillar Point Yacht Harbor at Half Moon Bay. But what's worse, "the spill has cost the U.S. government $1.4 million, money spent on operations by the Coast Guard,... more ›