Sen. Boxer seeks more powers for Coast Guard marine traffic systems

Sen. Boxer seeks more powers for Coast Guard marine traffic systems The U.S. Senate will be asked to give the U.S. Coast Guard the ability to take emergency control of vessels entering or exiting a dozen U.S. ports under a bill set to be introduced this week by California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
   The bill seeks to invest the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service, which helps monitor and provide guidance to ships moving into and out of a select group of U.S. harbors, with powers akin to air-traffic controllers who issue specific step-by-step directions to airplane pilots.
   Boxer's bill is a direct result of the 58,000-gallon oil spill in San Francisco Bay on Nov. 7 caused by a cargo container vessel sideswiping the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in heavy fog. Just moments before the COSCO Busan struck the bridge footing and tore open two of its bunker fuel tanks, the Bay Area VTS contacted the local pilot that was aboard the Chinese-crewed vessel as the vessel steamed along parallel to the bridge at nearly 11 knots instead of perpendicular to the bridge to go under it.
   A VTS officer questioned the pilot via radio about the odd course, to which the pilot, Capt. John Cota, said the two radar sets and other electronic navigation instruments aboard the vessel were telling him he was on the proper course.
   Immediately following the radio call, transponder tracking records show that the COSCO Busan abruptly turned toward the bridge almost 90 degrees, and then sideswiped the bridge footing as it moved past.
   The area's Coast Guard commander has said that there was no mechanical failure aboard the vessel and though did not specify by whom, said that human error was the cause. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation of the incident. Several other investigations and inquiries into the incident are also underway.
   Boxer said she believes the spill of the COSCO Busan's fuel oil following the collision with the bridge footing could have been averted if the Bay Area VTS had taken a more proactive role in guiding the vessel once the VTS determined the vessel was off course.
   The new powers proposed by the bill already exist to some degree. But Boxer said her discussions with Coast Guard officials revealed confusion about what powers the VTS actually has in a defined emergency situation. She said she wants her bill to clarify the authority that the VTS officers have in emergency and/or hazardous situations.
   The Coast Guard, while not commenting on the COSCO Busan incident, did tell the San Francisco Chronicle that “the pilots and masters of the vessels in VTS harbors ' retain primary responsibility for the movement of their vessels at all times. VTS is there to enhance their operating picture and advise and assist them.”
   Boxer's bill would also authorize $20 million to upgrade VTS technology and require all pilots to carry their own laptop navigational computers while working on a vessel.
   Cota has told investigators that he was unfamiliar with the electronic charts on the COSCO Busan's bridge.
   The state board that oversees pilots suspended Cota’s license on Friday.
   Cota’s attorney said his client was given “wrong information” by the ship’s Chinese captain. Cota originally claimed that both the radar sets aboard the ship's bridge provided him with false readings.
   Under state pilotage rules, pilots do not actually steer the vessels they are assigned to. The responsibility for inputting the pilot's directions into the vessel's controls remains with the captain and bridge crew.
   Boxer's bill also seeks to raise the liability limits placed on container vessel owners to cover potential cleanup costs and/or damages in the event of an accident. The bill would raise cargo vessel liability limits to match the much high limits now imposed on oil tankers.