Tug boats arrive in Tubbataha to remove US ship

From ABS-CBN (Jan 19): Tug boats arrive in Tubbataha to remove US ship

The Philippine Navy's patrol boat spotted two tug boats approaching the Tubbataha Reef at around 7 a.m. Saturday, Major Oliver Baniarya of the Western Command said. Authorities are expecting that the two vessels will help remove the USS Guardian, a US Navy Minesweeper, which ran aground the coral area of the reef on Thursday. All US Navy personnel aboard the USS Guardian were transferred to a support vessel and left Tubbataha.

The 68-meter-long ship is still stuck at the reef, damaging at least 10 meters of corals at approximately 80 miles east-southeast of the Palawan Island. The Protected Areas and Management Board in Palawan (PAWB) chaired by Gov. Abraham Mitra said the United States may be fined for reef damage. “We are very much concerned about the damage. Wala naman sanang exception, kahit kanino, kahit ally, kahit hindi ally,” said Mitra.

The reef’s management, meanwhile, expressed concern that it may take a hundred years before the corals can be restored. As of 5 p.m., the stranded ship slightly moved but remained stuck, causing damage to more corals in the reef. Authorities have called a closed door interagency meeting, which will include military forces, Philippine Coast Guard and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, to discuss steps in assisting in the ship’s removal. Three ships of the Western Command are also on standby.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/01/19/13/tug-boats-arrive-tubbataha-remove-us-ship