U.S. ship remains stuck on Tubbataha Reef; PH authorities to determine extent of damage

From InterAksyon (Jan 18): U.S. ship remains stuck on Tubbataha Reef; PH authorities to determine extent of damage



USS Guardian stuck on Tubbataha Reef. Photo from AFP Western Command

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Tubbataha Management Office will determine the extent of damage on Tubbataha Reef off Palawan after United States Navy minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground in the marine sanctuary Thursday morning. A team, which will include divers, would check on the sanctuary’s pristine coral reef, Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said.  Balilo added the Coast Guard might also ask for an explanation from the US ship's crew on the circumstances that led to the incident.

The ship remains stuck on the reef.  Major Oliver Banaria, commander of the Palawan-based 6th Civil Relations Group of the military, said a navy gunboat has spotted a foreign "support vessel" in the area, MSV Champion, a civilian vessel which will reportedly provide support to USS Guardian

Banaria said his office had yet to receive any request for assistance from the US Navy ship. "The Tubbataha marine management will determine the damage because that place is a heritage site," Banaria told reporters on Friday.

Meanwhile, the militant group Bayan (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) said the incident once again raised questions on the Visiting Forces Agreement. "Our officials should have the political will to decisively make them accountable," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

'US ship had no permit to enter the sanctuary'

For its part, The Tubbataha Management Office said the US warship did not have permit or clearance to enter the protected marine sanctuary, an act required by law. Under Section 19 of the Tubbataha Reefs National Park Act of 2009 (Republic Act 10067), the area is “off-limits to navigation, except for activities that are sanctioned...such as, but not limited to, tourism and research." The law imposes a penalty of not less than six months but not more than one year and a fine of between P100,000 to P300,000. Ruel Alarcon, a research assistant at the Tubbataha Management Office, told Interaksyon that the law also imposes a fine of P12,000 per square meter of damaged corals. This is the first incident where a US warship ran aground at a protected marine sanctuary. Last 2005, environmental group Greenpeace was also fined after its ship struck coral reefs in the same area.

DFA: Govt to conduct own investigation

The Philippines will be conducting a separate investigation on the incident, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said on Friday. “We do not want to rely on the information [of the US embassy] alone, we would need to conduct our own research and our investigation to find out what really happened to the grounding of the ship,” Hernandez told the reporters. Officials will also “determine the legal violation connected with the incident,” he added.

“The Visiting Forces Agreement commission Executive director General Edilberto Adan is in touch with the Tubbataha management office as well as with the US embassy,” Hernandez said. Guardian forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, was commissioned on December 16, 1989, and has a crew of about 80 officers and crews, including eight Filipino-Americans.

Sailors evacuated

The U.S. Embassy announced late Friday that the crew members of USS Guardian had been evacuated.  Most of the sailors aboard theship were transferred to MV Champion, the military vessel deployed to provide assistance to the grounded vessel. Transfer should have been completed Friday afternoon. The embassy said initial efforts to the free the navy warship were unsuccessful and that the transfer of the crew was done as a "precautionary measure."

"A small complement of engineering and bridge personnel will remain aboard and work with a U.S. Navy team in an attempt to free Guardian with minimal environmental impact. The remaining seven Sailors, which include the commanding officer and executive officer, will also be transferred if conditions become unsafe," the embassy said.

The US Embassy further said that, "The US Navy recognizes that the Tubbataha Reef is a unique and treasured environment, and every effort is being made to ensure the safety of the coral reef." "We are in close communication with the Philippine authorities, including the Tubbataha Management Office and we very much appreciate their cooperation," it added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/52998/u-s--ship-remains-stuck-on-tubbataha-reef-ph-authorities-to-determine-extent-of-damage