Salvage team to work 12 hours daily to remove ship

MANILA, Philippines - The salvage crew will have to work at least 12 hours every day to remove the US Navy warship USS Guardian off Tubbataha Reef to prevent further damage to the corals, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said yesterday.

Balilo also downplayed claims by militant groups that the damage to Tubbataha has widened to a half-hectare of corals following the aftermath of tropical depression “Crising.”

Militant groups hinted the storm might have aggravated the situation at the reef after the Guardian ran aground last Jan. 17 and destroyed an estimated 4,000 square meters of corals.

“What was their basis for saying that the USS Guardian moved from its position because of Crising? Did they go (to the site) and make an assessment?” Balilo remarked.

Just because there was a storm that went through Palawan, it does not mean that the corals were damaged further, Basilio said.

He said Crising passed through Brooke’s Point in Palawan but the reef was not directly affected.

The propeller of the US minesweeper is wedged between the corals, preventing it from moving from its position, he said.

“If it moved, it might have moved toward the deep sea side of the Tubbataha Reef and fallen into the abyss,” he said.

If the 68-meter ship moved from its current spot, Palawan District Coast Guard commander Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista, who has jurisdiction over the area, would have learned about it, Basilio said.

Evangelista said the weather condition at the salvage site was fair enough to enable the primary crane ship M/V Jascon 25 to stay at a distance of 30 meters from the Guardian.

The salvage team yesterday aimed to install additional reference beacons or sensors that would be used by Jascon to position itself safely near the Guardian to operate cranes.

“The salvage team would try to detach small to medium size equipment on deck and below deck that are bolted,” Evangelista said.

He said there are no plans yet to cut through the superstructure, funnel or machinery.

If weather permits, Evangelista said the salvage teams would work at least 12 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the crew from Jascon could extend a few hours depending on the nature of their work. 

He said they would work mainly during the daytime.

“Our number one consideration is the safety of the personnel. If it’s nighttime, it might no longer be safe,” Evangelista said.

An official of the task force supervising the salvage operation at the site, however, revealed the actual cutting up of the grounded warship has yet to commence even if Jascon was already pre-positioned in the area with all the needed personnel and equipment.

“The cutting of the ship has yet to start as the ongoing salvage operation is being hampered by bad weather,” said the official who asked not to be named.

Aside from the storm that hit Palawan the other day, strong northeast monsoon winds over the site are forcing the suspension of salvage operations.

The official stressed the salvage operation depends entirely on the weather conditions in the area.

“If the winds hit 12 knots, all the salvage operations at Tubbataha would have to be stopped to ensure the safety (of) everybody involved,” he said.

The current focus of the salvage operation is still confined to the removal of the vital but heavy parts of the grounded minesweeper. These parts are to be lifted and transferred to the crane ship’s deck.

Judging from the slow progress, the salvage operations could last until May, the official said.– With Jaime Laude