Update: Progress Made Towards Removal of Grounded USS Guardian
A U.S. Navy-led salvage team has removed the bulk of fuel oil and materials that could pose environmental risks, such as paint, solvents, and lubricants from mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian (MCM 5), which ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef January 17.
No fuel has leaked since the grounding, and all of the ship's approximately 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel was safely transferred to the U.S.-contracted Malaysian tug-boat, the Vos Apollo during controlled defueling operations completed on January 25.
US Navy ship salvage and maritime architecture experts continue to develop the salvage plan and perform work to reinforce the structure of the ship, such as reinforcing the hull with Kevlar lines in an effort to reduce the strain that the ship sustains due to wave action.
Two heavy lift ship-borne cranes have been contracted to support the salvage operations, and are due to arrive on-scene by February 1st.
The U.S. Navy in the meantime, continues to remove material from the ship, to assess and manage structural issues and to prepare the Guardian to be safely removed, all the while seeking to protect the natural environment of Tubbataha Reef.
After the USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef on January 17 while transiting the Sulu Sea, the crew of the Guardian was temporarily transferred on January 18 to nearby support vessels as a safety precaution. After consultations between the Philippine inter-agency task force in Palawan and the U.S. Navy, 69 Guardian sailors not needed for recovery operations were transferred to the USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204) on January 22 for transit back to the ship’s forward-operating location in Sasebo, Japan. The USNS Rappahannock is expected to dock in Sasebo on January 28.
The Guardian’s commanding officer and other technical experts from among the crew remain on-scene near the Tubbataha Reef, to work with the recovery team, in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy and local environmental agencies.
The U.S. Navy is undertaking an extensive investigation to assess the circumstances and facts surrounding the USS Guardian accident. The ship had just completed a port call in Subic Bay and was transiting directly through the Sulu Sea en route to its next port of call in Indonesia when the grounding occurred. All relevant factors will be looked at during the course of the investigation, and the proximate cause of the incident will be made at a later date.
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