U.S. sues ship and pilot for San Francisco spill

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. government sued a pilot on Friday whose ship spilled 58,000 gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay earlier this month -- the bay's worst environmental incident in more than 15 years.

The suit names the ship's American pilot, John Cota, as a defendant along with the vessel itself, the Cosco Busan; its Hong Kong-based owners and managers, Regal Stone Ltd and Fleet Management Ltd; and the boat's insurance company, The Shipowners' Insurance & Guaranty Company Ltd.

An investigation is examining why the Cosco Busan struck a fog-shrouded tower of the Bay Bridge on the morning of November 7, as the container ship was beginning a trip to South Korea. The collision created a 100-foot (30-metre) gash in the ship's hull and its fuel spilled into the bay.

As the oil traveled into the Pacific Ocean, it killed hundreds of birds and required the closing of picturesque beaches on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delayed the opening of the bay's fishing season for two weeks. On Thursday, he lifted the ban and announced that environmental tests had shown no significant health risk from consuming marine life caught in most of the area.

"There is a clean bill of health for the fish," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "They are safe to eat."

The federal lawsuit, filed in the Northern District Court of California, seeks unspecified damages for fuel cleanup in several national parks and marine sanctuaries, including Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

(Reporting by Amanda Beck; Editing by Adam Tanner and Peter Cooney)