Noy reviewing report on USS Guardian grounding

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino is reviewing the findings of the American fact-finding mission on the grounding of the USS Guardian in Tubbataha Reef last April.

The volume of the report is “about an inch thick – full of nautical charts, amongst other things,” Aquino said yesterday after a turnover ceremony for government-owned and controlled corporations’ dividends at Malacañang.

On April 4, the US Navy submitted to the Philippine Maritime Casualty Investigating Team (MCIT) documents, such as digital navigation charts, relevant to its investigation of the USS Guardian grounding “to help determine the cause of the grounding, and second, to help identify measures that should be undertaken to prevent similar incidents.”

Upon the turnover, the MCIT also conducted a safety inquiry on the US Navy.

A separate investigation carried out by the US Navy has led to the sacking of four USS Guardian officials for failing to “adhere to standard US Navy navigation procedures.”

The US Navy is facing a P58-million ($1.4-million) fine after the USS Guardian damaged 2,345.67 square meters of Tubbataha reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The amount is based on fines stipulated in Republic Act No. 10067 or the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act of 2009.