departing Oakland for South Korea when it struck a tower supporting the western suspension span of the Bay Bridge , cutting a 212-foot , 12-foot wide gash in the ship 's side . About 58,000 gallons of heavy-duty bunker oil poured out of the vessel as it was moored near Treasure Island . See where oil spilled '' The oil sickened birds and formed globules on more than 20 of the area 's beaches . It oozed along the San Francisco city waterfront and out of the bay , beneath the Golden Gate Bridge toward Marin County . Allen defended the Coast Guard against criticism of its response to the spill . Some lawmakers , including one of the state 's U.S. senators , Democrat Barbara Boxer , have criticized the Coast Guard 's handling of the collision and resulting spill . Boxer said the Coast Guard initially reported that the ship 's owner had said only 140 gallons had spilled from the Cosco Busan . Boxer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have called for congressional hearings into the accident and resulting spill . Although Allen conceded some confusion in the Coast Guard 's communication , he said
SAN FRANCISCO , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` Human error factors '' probably were involved in a ship crash and oil spill that killed nearly 400 birds in San Francisco Bay and prompted a federal criminal probe , the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday . A worker checks oil cleanup gear near the Golden Gate Bridge Thursday in San Francisco , California . The U.S. attorney in San Francisco has opened a federal criminal investigation into Wednesday 's crash of the MV Cosco Busan to determine whether the captain and crew violated federal maritime laws . Although not officially detained , the captain and crew were barred by law from leaving the vessel , which is docked for repairs in Oakland , the Coast Guard said . `` You had a competently manned ship with a pilot , all the navigation and sensors , '' said Adm. Thad Allen , Coast Guard commandant . There were `` probably some human error factors , but we need to determine the facts , because there 's no reason a ship like that should have collided with the bridge . '' Watch Allen on the criminal probe '' The Cosco Busan was