A Chinese fishing boat with bow number 63168 remains stuck in Tubbataha Reef after it run aground at the North Atoll on Monday, April 8. Twelve Chinese nationals on board were arrested by the Coast Guard and brought to Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. Various PHL agencies are working together on Wednesday to expedite the filing of charges against the fishermen for violating Section 27 (Poaching by Foreigners) of RA 10067. GMA News/Tubbataha Management Office
Efforts to remove a Chinese fishing vessel that ran aground on Tubbataha Reef last Monday may be easier than those for the minesweeper USS Guardian, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday.
Coast Guard Palawan commander Commodore Efren Evangelista said there is no need for salvage ships to cut up the Chinese vessel, which he said is relatively intact and can move under its own power.
"Hindi kailangan ganoong kalaking salvage vessels. Ang USS Guardian kahoy, hindi kaya palutangin. Ang Chinese ship's hull, steel at intact ang propeller ng barko," he said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Evangelista said they are waiting for a vessel from Coast Guard headquarters before starting removal operations.
He said the vessel is expected to arrive in the Tubbataha area Saturday morning.
For now, he said their initial option to remove the ship is to lighten it by removing its fuel and other contents until it can float again.
The Chinese vessel ran aground on the reef before midnight Monday, three months after the USS Guardian did so last Jan. 17.
The 12 fishermen aboard it have been charged with poaching and bribery of public officers before the provincial prosecutor's office.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/303360/news/nation/coast-guard-removal-of-sino-ship-from-tubbataha-likely-easy
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