PCG resumes USS Guardian salvaging

MANILA, Philippines - Salvaging operations on the USS Guardian at Tubbataha Reef resumed yesterday under good weather conditions.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Palawan District commander Enrico Efren Evangelista said the salvors returned to the site as soon as tropical depression “Crising” left the country.

The salvage ship M/V Jascon 25 has installed reference beacons to enable the ship, which is  20 meters away, to position itself as near and as safely as possible to the Guardian and operate her cranes for lifting operations, Evangelista said.

He said the salvage crew started to board Guardian to start dismantling the ship into pieces.

The crane barge Smit Borneo, along with Archon Tide and Tug Intrepid, also arrived at the site, joining the other salvors USNS Wally Schirra, Trabajador I with barge S-7000 and BRP Romblon.

Evangelista said the process would include dismantling the ship by cutting its hull and lifting the pieces separately by cranes to a barge.

He said all the perishable goods from the Guardian would be brought to the tugboat Intrepid for disposal.

The salvage operation on the US Navy’s minesweeper was suspended for two days because of strong winds and big waves caused by the storm.

On Jan. 17, the 1,300-ton, 68-meter-long USS Guardian ran aground at Tubbataha Reef’s south atoll, raising concerns about the destruction it would cause to the reef.

Tubbataha, which spans 130,028 hectares, was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1993.

Because of its extensive coral network, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Marine Park in the Sulu Sea has been declared a protected area.