Grounded Navy Ship Taking on Water on Philippines

Grounded Navy Ship Taking on Water on Philippines
Jan 24, 2013
Associated Press
by Oliver Teves

MANILA, Philippines - A U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground on a Philippine reef is damaged and taking on water and will have to be lifted off the rocks in an operation that could last another week or two, a Navy official said Thursday.

Before the USS Guardian can be removed from the Tubbataha Reef, about 56,000 liters (15,000 gallons) of fuel will be siphoned off to avoid spills, Rear Adm. Thomas Carney, commander of the Navy's Logistics Group in the Western Pacific, told reporters.

The ship, which is based in Japan, crashed into the reef before dawn Jan. 17 while on its way to Indonesia after making a rest and refueling stop in Subic Bay, a former American naval base west of Manila.

All of its 79 officers and crew were transferred to two other U.S. vessels the following day for safety reasons as the 68-meter (74-yard) long, 1,300-ton ship was unable to maneuver on its own and buffeted by strong winds and waves.
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