Cosco Busan Operator May Have Broken Probation

The operator of the Cosco Busan, the vessel that struck the San Francisco Bay Bridge in November 2007, may be in violation of its probation, according to the Justice Department.

In a report to the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the department said Hong Kong-based Fleet Management Ltd. has not carried out a program of remedial crew safety training that was included in the plea agreement it made in September.

The Cosco Busan struck a pier of the bridge, spilling some 53,000 gallons of fuel oil into the bay. Fleet Management and the ship’s owner agreed to pay $44 million in penalties and environmental restoration costs after the incident.

The Justice Department said a court-appointed auditor found officers on a different Fleet Management shiwere not familiar with emergency procedures and company policies.

In a separate case, Athens-based A.E. Nomikos Shipping pleaded guilty in federal court in Oregon to a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships aboard the bulk vessel Arion SB. Investigators found that the ship’s engineers between June and October ordered crew members to tamper with the oil water separator, resulting in oil being dumped overboard.

The company paid a $750,000 fine and was put on three years’ probation. Half the fine will go to Oregon’s environmental fund.

Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobinWash.