US envoy expressed regret over Tubbataha incident

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. on Friday conveyed his "profound regret" over the week-long grounding of the USS Guardian on the protected Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea.

A week after the incident on the Tubbataha Reef on January 17, Thomas issued a statement wishing to convey his profound regret "on behalf of the United States government."

"This was an unfortunate accident, and I recognize the legitimate concerns over the damage caused to a unique and precious wonder of nature, internationally recognized for its beauty and biological diversity," he said in a statement sent by the US Embassy in Manila.

Militants and environmental advocates are one in criticizing the US Navy for the damages the USS Guardian caused on the Tubbataha Reef, a Unesco World Heritage Site and a protected marine environment recognized by the international community to contain rare species of corals.

..........................The USS Guardian remains stuck on the reef as US and Philippine Coast Guard personnel race to extract the warship before the weather condition worsens.

Philippine legislators have already criticized the US government for harming the Tubbataha Reef, which was nominated as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.................


Source:-
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-...pressed-regret-over-tubbataha-incident-264715

How did USS Guardian get into protected Tubbataha area?

How did a US warship with all its sophisticated equipment wander into a protected area like Tubbataha Reef?

President Benigno Aquino III wants to know this even as efforts to get the USS Guardian out of the Tubbataha Reef area are underway one week after the minesweeper ran aground last Jan. 17.

A report on government-run dzRB radio quoted Aquino, who is now in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum, as asking “how did they get into a protected area.”

He also noted the minesweeper’s navigation system had been expected to be “one of the most sophisticated.”

The USS Guardian entered the Tubbataha Reef area last Jan. 17 and ran aground. The area is a UNESCO heritage site.

On Friday, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said Task Force Tubbataha is working with the US Navy and a salvage firm from Singapore to remove the ship.

Bishop speaks

Meanwhile, Puerto Princesa Bishop Pedro Arigo said the US government must pay for the damage caused by the ship when it ran aground the reef, considered a UNESCO heritage site.

“Whoever is responsible for that should pay for it and should be held liable,” Arigo said in an article posted Saturday on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site.

“Our appeal is that the ship should be retrieved as soon as possible to prevent larger damage of the coral reefs. The government should exert all efforts not to aggravate the damage,” Arigo added

Source:-
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...o-protected-tubbataha-area-pnoy-wants-to-know

Not much being done about this either!!

http://www.shellhorizons.com/process.asp

8 Things We Should Know About Tubbataha Reef

http://8list.ph/site/articles/8-things-you-should-know-about-tubbataha-reef-144.html

I've just been diving off Apo island near Dumaguete, Negros and this mistake still irks me and the other divers I have been talking with.

I am not a diver, but I appreciate your sentiment.

Enjoying the diving?

Great link that John, thanks

Major disaster.

"How did a US warship with all its sophisticated equipment wander into a protected area like Tubbataha Reef?
"
Because it has all that sophisticed equipment and forget that what they see on the screen does not necessarily equate with reality. Indeed, there are warning on the charts not to rely on GPS but to take bearings by sight. It's a common problem.

"The salvage team dismantling the USS Guardian has completed the cutting and lifting of the bow, or forward section, of the US Navy minesweeper and its transfer to a barge, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
PCG spokesperson Lt. Commander Armand Balilo, also chief of its public affairs office, said on Wednesday the team successfully completed on March 26 the bow cutting and lifting operations.
In a text message to the INQUIRER, Balilo said preparations were underway for the cutting of the remaining portions of the hull, or outer shell, as well as the superstructure of the 68-meter vessel that has been stuck on Tubbataha Reef since Jan. 17.
Citing good weather at the reef, Balilo said the salvage operation was expected to continue through Holy Week.
By Easter Sunday Task Force Tubbataha (TFT) expects the Guardian dismantling operation to be completed by March 31, Easter Sunday, he said."




http://globalnation.inquirer.net/70545/end-of-uss-guardian-dismantling-seen

Wow, that was a quick job. Must have been blessed with some sustained good weather.
At least it's getting done.

I did wonder now and then if it would just get left.

What an embarrasing event for the technology leading nation to have experienced.

Lets hope that some reef recovery can be made.

Sorry John, I missed this one.
The diving was ok but the best places where the jacks "hang out" was destroyed by the last typhoon. There was also too many dive boats near the island.
I just wish it was the way it was 10 - 15 years ago.
I probably won't go back to Apo now, sadly, as it will take many years to get back to the way it was. The queues of boats was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sickening

USS Guardian removal from Tubbataha Reef completed

"The salvage work on the grounded minesweeper USS Guardian was finally completed on Black Saturday with the removal of the last part of the hull, the Philippine Coast Guard said."


http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...uardian-removal-from-tubbataha-reef-completed

All-Filipino Team Prepares to Assess USS Guardian Damage

"Though long touted as one of the world’s richest bastions for marine biodiversity, a scant 5% of Philippine coral reefs are considered excellent – meaning hard, reef-building corals cover at least three-fourths of a given reef.

Marine habitats close to human communities are typically overfished and degraded, while those situated in remote areas are protected by their relative isolation."

http://www.manilachannel.com/2013/03/30/all-filipino-team-prepares-to-assess-uss-guardian-damage/

Bob is being too modest and has failed to cry his own wares, so I'll do it for him:

http://maritimeaccident.org/tags/uss-guardian/

Just been browsing through some of Bob's articles. Noticed one on Piper Alpha - it certainly led to the revolutionising of safety in the oil industry, after the Cullen Report.

And one on Hinge Failure on Mini Containers

And one on stress corrosion cracking caused by hydrogen embrittlement in a LMRP bolt.

Drill Floor equipment and Tubular Handling

OIM Rest Rota looks interesting....

Can Tubbataha’s reef recover from the USS Guardian grounding?

"The 4000 square metres of vibrant coral reef, which was turned to rubble by the USS Guardian crash on January 17 2013, is now covered in filamentous algae, which is preventing new coral larvae from colonising the area. "


http://tubbatahareef.org/wp/coral_recovery

US Navy relieves 4 over grounded minesweeper


"Four officers of the US Navy minesweeper USS Guardian that ran aground on Tubbataha reef in the Philippines were relieved from their duties.

The US Pacific Fleet said in a statement Wednesday that initial findings indicate all four sailors failed to adhere to standard navigation procedures at the time of the January 17 grounding of the Guardian.

The sailors relieved are the commanding officer, the executive officer and navigator, the assistant navigator, and the officer of the deck."

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-...y-relieves-4-over-grounded-minesweeper-275921

$1.4M fine a 'slap on wrist': Tubbataha exec

MANILA - "The roughly $1.4 million fine that the US Navy will have to pay for damaging Tubbataha Reef is a "slap on the wrist," the UNESCO World Heritage site's top official said Friday.

The US Navy Avenger-class minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha in the Sulu Sea on January 17.

It damaged approximately 2,345.67 square meters of the coral reefs, according to an assessment team that includes experts from the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), National Institute of Physics (NIP), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), De La Salle University (DLSU-SHIELDS), United States Navy (USN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Republic Act 10067 or the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act of 2009 imposes a fine of about $600 or P24,000 per square meter of damaged reef.

Other park rule violations raised the final fine total to slightly less than P60 million, or roughly $1.4 million, WWF-Philippines said in a press statement.

Tubbataha Management Office superintendent Angelique Songco said they will not ask for more.

"$1.4 million is but a slap on the wrist, as the salvage operation has been estimated to cost close to $45 million. However, we respect the rule of law and these are the fines stipulated," she said.

Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of WWF-Philippines, said a swift resolution of the case will allow Tubbataha park officials to build an endowment fund that will sustain its operations for years.

"The basic issue here is not tourism. It is food security. This fresh infusion of funds will allow TMO to concentrate on putting the money to good use – from building a better Ranger Station to upgrading their capacity to manage the country’s most productive coral reef," Tan said."

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/04/05/13/14m-fine-slap-wrist-tubbataha-exec

Peanuts really