The pilot of a cargo ship that struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and caused a massive oil spill wants to get back his mariner's license so he get out on the water again.
 
An attorney for 64-year-old John Cota of Petaluma says his client wants to work as a tugboat captain. The San Jose Mercury News reports the Coast Guard denied Cota's appeals to regain his license on Feb. 13.
 
Cota was piloting the Cosco Busan ship in heavy fog on Nov. 7, 2007 when it sideswiped a bridge tower. More than 50,000 gallons of oil leaked into the San Francisco Bay, contaminating 26 miles of shoreline.
 
Cota pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of illegally discharging oil in the bay and killing thousands of birds. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in July 2009.