Work resumes on USS Guardian; part of superstructure removed

From GMA News (Mar 7): Work resumes on USS Guardian; part of superstructure removed

Amid improved weather, salvage teams on Thursday resumed work on the grounded minesweeper USS Guardian at Tubbataha Reef in Sulu Sea, removing a part of the ship's superstructure.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the crews removed the part of the superstructure that contained the officers' cabin, radio dzBB's Cecilia Villarosa reported.

Coast Guard Palawan and Task Force Tubbataha head Commodore Efren Evangelista was quoted in the report as saying the removal and transfer of the part of the superstructure to a waiting barge was done shortly after 1 p.m.

Evangelista said they are now focusing on removing another part of the superstructure that contains the captain and executive officer's ward rooms and cabins.

He said the improved weather had allowed them to resume salvage operations, after bad weather conditions forced them to suspend salvage work earlier this week.

The USS Guardian ran aground at Tubbataha Reef on Jan. 17, with the Tubbataha Management Office estimating the accident damaged some 4,000 square meters of the reef.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/298185/news/nation/work-resumes-on-uss-guardian-part-of-superstructure-removed