Hajin - The same freighter company that nearly ran over the kyak support staff at the 'Alcatraz Sharfest' recently caused the SF Bay oil slick

In the picture above the sheriff literally had a Jetski in the water wrangling the kayak support staff away from the Hanjin freighter as it barreled into the bay at roughly 30 knots. I wrote about it here last summer. [Link]

Hanjin is the South Korean freighter company involved in both the near miss at the Alcatraz Sharkfest on June 10th of this year and the newest oil spill within the San Francisco Bay just last week. Though Hanjin boats were/are involved in these mishaps, it is the responsibility of the American pilot to steer the ship into port.

I am told that when a freighter enters the San Francisco or any American port, a new pilot takes control and guides the ship into Oakland. I wouldn't be surprised if the pilot involved in the above near miss was also the pilot involved in the most recent oil slick.

Now, to be fair to the pilot, John J. Cota, 59, of Petaluma, was tested within an hour of the impact with a bridge abutment on the Bay Bridge west of Yerba Buena Island, for alcohol and most likely drugs as well. He was clean. Also the accident took place in heavy fog but you think there would be a process to avoid catasrophies such as this. [Link]

So who is responsible? Hanjin or the American pilot paid to steer the ship to shore?

San Francisco Bay oil slick: LA TIMES, NY TIMES, SF CHRONICLE, & MARIN NDEPENDENT JOURNAL

It appears the Coast Guard was just as incompetent as the captain of the South Korean tanker. The oil leak began at 8:30 AM and it wasn't until 9 PM that the situation was properly explained and the gravity of the calamity was understood.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the line as well as Senator Boxer and Mayor Gavin Newsome. Of course many officials are screaming lawsuit but keep in mind that Exxon never paid Alaska after being sued over the Exxon Valdez spill and consequently they were allowed to get away with it.

Newsstories found at Google:

Response to fuel spill under Bay Bridge called 'unusually slow'
San Francisco Chronicle, USA - 7 hours ago
Gary York, a salmon fisherman from Fairfax, was out in his 17-foot whaler Wednesday when he ran into the oil slick that covered the bottom of his boat with ...
Oil oozes in San Francisco Bay after ship hits bridge Los Angeles Times
Oil spill leaves questions, contradictions Marin Independent-Journal
Oil Spill Fouls Shores in San Francisco Area New York Times

Oil Spill in the San Francisco Bay Could Threaten Wildlife for years

From CNN: "... The oil spilled from a South Korea-bound container ship when it struck a tower supporting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in dense fog Wednesday. The accident did not damage the span, but the vessel's hull was gashed, officials said. See the damage to the tower and the ship

Tides carried a plume of heavy fuel beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean. By Thursday afternoon, oil had been sighted about 15 miles north of the city, and at least eight beaches in San Francisco and Marin County were closed. Watch cleanup efforts get under way ..."

This disaster poses a lot of questions as well. Will the Alcatraz Sharkfest, the Alcatraz Challenge, the Tiburon Mile and numerous other events be cancelled? When will open water swimming for the S.F. swimmers at large be viable?

San Francisco swimmers are the toughest in the United States!

I will be doing the Alcatraz Sharkfest in 17 days with Anthony. It's an open water race to commemorate the successful escape by the Anglin Brothers from Alcatraz some 45 years ago. It's not an easy race. It's formidable, intimidating and though I finish in the top 10%, I get a little nervous during the swim. It's nothing like Pier-to-Pier or the 2.4 Open water swim at Kona. The water is cold, the currents overwhelmingly powerful and you MUST know the tide schedules or a 3-5 knot ebb tide can carry you out of the bay and as far as the Farallon Islands. If you have seen Shark Week on the Discovery channel you know the geographic significance of that.)

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article about a foot race called the Bay to Breakers race whereas you run from the San Francisco Bay all the way to the beach but these athletes decided to swim it instead. Of course like a true San Franciscan they wore no wet-suits and the water had to be at most 55 degrees. Snippet from the article:

• Boldest was Jessica Sullivan, 30, a high school biology teacher from San Mateo. Sullivan planned to swim about 21 miles, circling around the city from Candlestick to Fort Funston -- hoping to complete this route for the first time. She did her "jump" into the chilly bay waters off Candlestick Point at 3:26 a.m., so she could start at slack tide and later score a boost from a potent, 5-knot ebb. [Link]

*Disclaimer: Don't try this at home or at your local beach break or bay. These guys are from San Francisco and innately contain the "personality disorders" necessary to do stuff like like this. ;-)