in 2007, the cosco busson struck the fifth tower there. was fog and visibility down to a quarter mile. weather may have been a factor well. know the bar pilot and captain were in contact with the coast guard moments before. >> they spoke to the vessel. and that will come out further once getting back to tapes and can see what transpired. >> traffic was never interrupted. the vessel was detained and ordered to anchor. a large piece of wood composite was visible, broke off from fender that protects towers on the bridge. the bar skpilt crew will be test forward drugs and alcohol. now, both ships the cosco busson was a single hull ship this, tanker behind me, as mentioned has two hulls. the question is how long will the ship be out there? the coast guard says it's ready to go back out to sea. crews have to be interviewed that. will take time, they will remain on boards. and the coast guard, again, wants to be 100% sure that that oil, that ship is not leaking before kit leave the bay or be moved. i'm live on treasure island, abc 7 news. >> than

after cosco busson unthinkable almost happened again. >> i don't know if the decision was made not tobe more inclusive and that would it have affected whether this accidentp91l happened yesterday but extra caution was already called for. just from common sense perspective. >> part of the puzzle was those conditions question is was there fog from the anchorage? the nine critical areas that they're talking about would not exist if not for a group called harbor safety committee that recommended areas to the coast guard as it turns out harbor safety committee is going to have it's regular meeting on thursday and it should be interesting. >> yes. it should be. wayne thank you. the man acting as a spokesman for td construction project spent final days with caltrans today he has been servings a consultant for 15 years and works for a company whose $10 kblinl contract with caltrans was cancelled by governor brown last month. the contract included plans for a book and a du.ry but the gyx/,p!3u1h] and a handful of supporters refused to move out of the way. five were arrested between last night

the cosco busson repairs took six weeks, three weeks ahead of schedule.caltrans estimates it could take up to 4.5 months to fix fend fenders damaged by the raymaar and potentially twice the cost. >> the cosco busson did tear off sections of the fender.$$f and there is damage still in place. it would be more -- more time consuming. >> the money for the latest fix will come from the bay area toll authority which is administered by the transportation commission. it's unclear whether they'll go after the shipping company or bar pilot to recruit the money. >> i think it's too early to know what answers goring to be. that is what caltrans is concerned right now getting fenders for repairs so the bridge is protected from another incident. >> this work proceeds caltrans says there will be no interruption to ship traffic that travels underneath the bridge. in san francisco, abc 7 news. >> thank you. >> a new pipeline scanner could take guesswork out of determine chg lines are safe. pg&e is testing it now part of efforts to improve safety3i programs since the dead

we learned about that site in 2007 when the cosco busson slammed into the bay bridge, dumping 53,000gallons of oil, and contaminated 26 miles of shore line. the pilot served a 10-month sentence after pleading guilt yes to two misdemeanor cota admitted to pilotting with out using radare6á or talking about his plans with the captain and crew. he also admitted to failing to disclose all prescription med beings he was taking when renewing his pilot licenses in 2006, and 2007. >> coming up at 6:00 abc 7 news i team confirm who's sat at helm of today's shipping accident. stay with us flirtest on this story, we're also sending out updates throughout the day on twitter and facebook. so you're connected 24-7. a judge declares main accused in the oikos university abc 7 news joins us live with the latest. vick? >> the judge sus send proceedings three weeks. now, he will return to court to hear which hospital he'll be set to. now, it's shocking to see him in court today. you know, at one point during his incarceration, he refused to eat anything. it and showed. the judge refused to allow televis

before yerba buena island, being done by the same contractor who fixed an adjacent pier after the cosco busson accident. that is now coming in handy. damage steel, food and fender now sit on a large. on january 7th an oil tanker grazed td fender in the fog. the force strong enough to shear off fire glass rebar. saying it took the brunt of the course. >> these were designed when the bridge was built. so... you're talking about technology that is 80 years old. and it's done an excellent job of protecting the bridge. >> the fenders upper section made of treated wood. lower section replaced with what is calledded plastic lumber. >> what werk see was the fender system. and first order of business is get rid of the damaged wood. >> the work began tuesday, taking a week. but it will take longer, about four and a half nose complete the repairs. >> any time you're walking on water, it makes things difficult. >> the contractor says it's working on a new design for the replacement segment. wood no longer an option for the beams that held a top and bottom section together. >> this is generally not availab

. >> over a standard map of san francisco bay, explaining how after cosco busson, coa

this work that is supposed to take up to four and a half months, nearly three times longer than cosco busson repairs took. one big question is whether caltrans and the mtv, ministers the toll authority is going to try to recoop the money from the shipping company, or from the bar pilot association we'll have more for you on that tonight on abc 7 news at 6:00 n san francisco, abc 7 news. >> laura, thank you. see you again at 6:00. at 4:00 coast guard is searching for a surfer missing along the monterey county coast. an alert went out just after noon today. that surfer vanished at the south end of big sur. high surf makes this area dangerous. today's search comes after sky 7 hd captured the rescue of a surfer. the stranded man was able to jump and paddle out to a police boat. >> more on the surf now and the forecast for us. >> i'm happen yes to report wave heights are diminishing. therefore, the threat of dangerous waves diminishes. you can see there is extensive cloud cover. let's talk about the beach hazard. current lights down to about five to six feet. so that is not very high over the wee

work is the same contractor engineering that did the repairs on the adjacent fender after the cosco bussonfive years ago. turns outs that was this fender system that is coming in handy now. workers are removing twisted steel beams -- baems and shattered wood baems. an oil tanker grazed the fender in the fog january 7th, crushing a 16 by 16 foot section. still, caltrans says it performed as it's supposed to, taking the brunt of the force and protecting the bridge pier structure. there is an upper coated wood swex a plastic section below. they attached to a steel structure rap wrapped around the concrete skirt. the contractor says they can no longer use woo.d caltrans has to come up with a new design. >> these were designed when the bridge was built so you're talking about technology that is 80 years old. it's done an excellent job of preparing the bridge. so so we're going put it back with the least disruption that we can. >> caltrans says it's put aside $3 million of money to pay for the repairs hoping that it comes in less than that. >> and thanks for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00 the