Feb 102013
 
Poor sea conditions forced the US Navy on Sunday to push back the operation to dismantle USS Guardian, a minesweeper ship, to pull it out from the Tubbataha Reef where it has been grounded since Jan. 17.

The US Navy team would continue the salvage operation when the bigger crane ship Jackson 25 arrives, said Coast Guard Palawan District chief Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista.

Earlier reports said the first crane ship Smit Borneo from Singapore encountered anchoring problems last Saturday, causing a delay in the start of the salvage operation.

“Smit Borneo is there but could not anchor due to weather. Its anchoring should be precise. It tried (to anchor) but so far, out of the four anchors, only one had a good bite at seabed,” said Evangelista.

After the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board approved the salvage plan crafted by the US Navy, Coast Guard commandant Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena announced on Wednesday the dismantling of the USS Guardian may start Sunday or Monday.

However, the operation hit a snag due to anchoring problem.
 
Citing information from US Navy officials, Evangelista said Jascon 25 departed Singapore around 4 p.m. Saturday and is due to sail directly to Tubbataha Reef.

He said the bigger crane ship is expected to arrive around 9 p.m. Friday.

The USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17, after a port call at Subic Bay, a former base of the US Navy.

Latest estimate showed that the grounding of the ship has damaged 4,000 square meters of reef, from the initial 1,000 square meters.

Pending the start of the cutting operations, Evangelista said, the Americans are to continue with the removal of small items aboard the USS Guardian. — LBG, GMA News

Feb 072013
 
Cranes in place to lift US ship piece by piece; Aquino OK’s plan

By Michael Lim Ubac, Paolo G. MontecilloPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:58 am | Friday, February 8th, 2013 President Aquino approved Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, the salvage operations plan submitted by the US Navy to use floating cranes to lift piece by piece its stranded minesweeper out of the Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea. AP PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino approved Thursday the salvage operations plan submitted by the US Navy to use floating cranes to lift piece by piece its stranded minesweeper out of the Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea. In a statement, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said, “We have carefully reviewed the US Navy’s salvage operations plan and we were assured that among their priorities is to have no further damage to the Tubbataha Reefs.” He said the DOTC had “considered several factors and imposed certain conditions before we gave clearance for the US Navy and commercial salvors it has commissioned to undertake the dismantling and vertical removal of the grounded US ship.” “It was presented to [President Aquino] by Secretary Abaya and he has approved it,” said Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang at a briefing in Malacañang. After getting the President’s approval, Abaya promptly issued a statement to formally announce the government’s acceptance of the salvage plan. Asked if the plan had been modified in any way following discussions between Philippine and US officials, Carandang said the salvage plan was approved “as presented” by the US Navy. He said the plan would follow “a general timeframe,” but declined Read More …