US Navy relieves 4 from grounded minesweeper

(The Philippine Star)

April 4, 2013 - 11:15am

This photo taken on March 30, 2013, and released by the Philippine Coast Guard on Monday, April 1, 2013, shows the damaged propellers and rudders of the USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy minesweeper, as it is lifted out of the water at the Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage site, in the Tubbataha National Marine Park, southwest of the Philippines. Workers have removed the last major part of the minesweeper from the protected coral reef where it ran aground in January, and the damage will be assessed to determine the fine Washington will pay, officials recently said. - AP

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) â€” Four officers of a U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground on coral reef in the Philippines are being relieved of their duties.

The U.S. 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 Jan. 17 grounding of the Guardian.

The sailors are the commanding officer, the executive officer and navigator, the assistant navigator and the officer of the deck. They've been reassigned.

Workers recently finished dismantling and removing the minesweeper from Tubbataha National Marine Park.

The park's superintendent has said the grounding damaged about 4,000 square meters, or nearly 5,000 square yards, of reef.

The U.S. could face a fine of more than $2 million for the damage.

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