In this Feb. 25, 2013 photo released by Philippine Coast Guard, salvaging operation is underway on the USS Guardian, a US Navy minesweeper, left, by the Jascon-25 salvaging crane ship from Singapore in Sulu Seas, southwestern Philippines. The USS Guardian is still stuck after running aground Tubbataha Reefs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (AP Photo/Philippine Coast Guard)
Amid the good weather conditions, salvage teams are eyeing to remove the engines of the USS Guardian stuck on the Tubbataha Reef this week after have dismantled the funnel, mast, and bridge deck section.
“Salvors will work on the removal of the engines within the week,” said Coast Guard Palawan District commander Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista.
As of Monday morning, salvors continued without a hitch the cutting into sections of the minesweeper.
“The pipes from the funnel base as well as the debris were removed,” Evangelista said.
“The entire superstructure of the USS Guardian has been removed. This is the upper part of the ship,” Evangelista said.
He said a container van loaded with debris was transferred to S-7000 barge via M/Tug Archon Tide.
Salvage personnel hired by the U.S government have been working toward the dismantling the ship which ran aground last Jan. 17. It was estimated that about 4,000 square meters of the corals has been damaged.
Task Force Tubbataha is closely monitoring the progress of the salvage work and is ready to prevent any attempts to enter the “exclusive safety zone” at the Tubbataha Reef.
Evangelista said the unauthorized presence of individuals or other vessels at the site could bring more harm than good to the salvaging operations of the 68-meter ship and even to the corals and marine life at the reef.
http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=3304&sid=1&subid=2
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