An approximately 90-foot-long gash stretched along the hull of the Cosco Busan in November 2007 after the container ship sideswiped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
(Noah Berger/Associated Press/file)
Ship pilot's health scrutinized
May have played role in fuel oil spill
An approximately 90-foot-long gash stretched along the hull of the Cosco Busan in November 2007 after the container ship sideswiped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
(Noah Berger/Associated Press/file)
SAN FRANCISCO - The ship pilot who was at the helm when a freighter spilled 58,000 gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay in November suffers from a sleep disorder and was on prescription medication to ward off drowsiness, people close to the investigation told the Associated Press.
Investigators want to know whether the disorder - or even the medication itself - contributed to the accident.
Federal officials and others, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said John Cota has sleep apnea, a breathing condition that can disrupt sleep all night long and leave sufferers severely fatigued during the day. Sleep apnea is blamed for countless auto accidents every year in which drivers nodded off at the wheel.
Cota, 59, was also said to be taking a sleep-apnea drug whose known side effects include impaired judgment.
Prescription drugs are "certainly a part of our investigation," said G. Ross Wheatley, chief of investigations for the Coast Guard's San Francisco sector.
The disclosure has raised questions among members of Congress about the Coast Guard's licensing practices and whether Cota should have been deemed fit for a job in which he was responsible for guiding giant cargo ships in and out of port and through the dangerous waters of the bay.
Under Coast Guard policy, a sleep disorder can be grounds for disqualification, but is not automatically so.
On Nov. 7, the 900-foot cargo ship Cota was piloting sideswiped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, opening a gash in its hull and leaking heavy fuel in the worst oil spill in the bay in nearly two decades. The spill killed thousands of birds.
Wheatley declined to say what kind of medication Cota was taking, citing privacy concerns and the investigations underway. So did Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which is also investigating.
But a person familiar with the case, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on, said Cota was taking modafinil. Modafinil, often sold under the brand name Provigil, is given to people with narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and other similar disorders to help them stay awake.
Cota was also taking another prescription drug, apparently to treat anxiety, that person and a federal official said.
According to an online guide assembled by the Physicians' Desk Reference, an authoritative manual on prescription drugs, Provigil "may impair your judgment, thinking, or motor skills. You should not drive a car or operate hazardous machinery until you know how this medication affects you." Also, it can interact with harmful effect with other drugs, including certain antianxiety medication, the guide says.
Similarly, Provigil's manufacturer,
Candace Steele, Cephalon spokeswoman, said: "Cephalon is unaware of any connection to our products in this case. We contacted the National Transportation Safety Board, and we are told the investigation regarding the cause of the accident is still ongoing."
Congressional investigators are looking into whether the Coast Guard mishandled the case.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
