USS Guardian has run aground

ManilaBoy45 said:

US Navy Minesweeper Runs Aground on Reef in the Philippines
Jan 16, 2013 11:12pm

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A U.S. Navy minesweeper has run aground on a reef in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines.
The ship remains stuck on the reef. No injuries were reported among the ship’s crew of 81 and there were no indications of a fuel leak.

A Navy statement said the USS Guardian (MCM-5) ran aground on the Tubataha Reef at 2:25 a.m. local time while transiting in the Sulu Sea. The reef is located almost 400 miles south of the Philippine capital of Manila.

(Aerial Photo by AFP WESCOM)

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YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- While the U.S. Navy continues operations to free the grounded USS Guardian (MCM 5) from Tubbataha Reef, all 79 crew members were temporarily removed today and safely transferred by small boat to the nearby support vessels USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) and MSV C-Champion.

"Seventh Fleet ships remain on scene and essential Guardian Sailors will continue conducting survey operations onboard the ship as needed until she is recovered," said Vice Adm. Scott Swift, U.S. 7th Fleet commander. "Several support vessels have arrived and all steps are being taken to minimize environmental effects while ensuring the crew's continued safety."

Small boats continue to be used to transfer personnel between Guardian and Military Sealift Command ships Bowditch and C-Champion.

After the Sasebo-based Guardian ran aground Jan. 17, initial efforts to free the ship on high tide were not successful. The ship remains stuck on the reef, approximately 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island.

The Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship had just completed a port call in Subic Bay, Olongapo City, and was en route to her next port of call when the grounding occurred. The U.S. Navy is operating in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The cause of the grounding is under investigation.

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bd popeye said:

Yep.. that CO of the Guardian career is toast..burnt toast in fact

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joshuatree said:

What about due to extenuating circumstances, ie malfunction leading to loss of power? So far, no details have been revealed on cause.

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2012• Capt. Chuck Litchfield was fired June 18 as CO of the amphibious assault ship Essex, in the wake of Essex’s May 16 collision with the replenishment oiler Yukon as both ships were en route to San Diego.

2011• Capt. Eric Merrill was fired July 15 as commanding officer of the submarine tender Emory S. Land after the ship hit a channel buoy June 21 while heading into Mina Salman, a port of Bahrain.

2010• Cmdr. Neil Funtanilla, CO of the destroyer The Sullivans, was relieved May 18 in Manama, Bahrain, after a non-judicial hearing found he was “derelict in the performance of his duties.” The destroyer struck a buoy in the Persian Gulf in March.

2010• Cmdr. Herman Pfaeffle was relieved as CO of the frigate John L. Hall for loss of confidence in his ability to command on June 22 after hitting a pier April 16 in Batumi, Georgia

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joshuatree said:

What about due to extenuating circumstances, ie malfunction leading to loss of power? So far, no details have been revealed on cause.

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Informed sources told The STAR yesterday that the 1,300-ton, 68-meter-long USS Guardian, which ran aground on the reef at around 2 a.m. Thursday, had started taking in water and sinking, prompting 72 of the 79 crew to abandon ship. No injuries were reported.

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MANILA, Philippines -- Most of the sailors on a U.S. Navy minesweeper that struck a coral reef in the Philippines left the ship Friday for safety reasons after initial efforts to free the vessel failed, the Navy said.

The ship ran aground Thursday while in transit through the Tubbataha National Marine Park, a coral sanctuary in the Sulu Sea, 640 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Manila. There were no injuries or oil leaks, and Philippine authorities were trying to evaluate damage to the protected coral reef, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said 72 of the 79 crew of the USS Guardian were transferred to a military support vessel by small boat. A small team of personnel will remain aboard and attempt to free the ship with minimal environmental impact, the statement said. The remaining seven sailors, including the commanding and the executive officer, will also be transferred if conditions become unsafe.

Philippine officials said the weather was choppy Friday with strong winds and rough seas.

The World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines said that according to an initial visual inspection, the 68-meter- (74-yard-) long, 1,300-ton Guardian damaged at least 10 meters (yards) of the reef. Aerial photographs provided by the Philippine military showed the ship's bow sitting atop corals in shallow turquoise waters. The stern was floating in the deep blue waters. The Navy said the cause of the grounding, which took place around 2 a.m. Thursday, was under investigation.

Angelique Songco, head of the government's Protected Area Management Board, said it was unclear how much of the reef was damaged. She said the government imposes a fine of about $300 per square meter (yard) of damaged coral.

In 2005, the environmental group Greenpeace was fined almost $7,000 after its flagship struck a reef in the same area.

Songco said that park rangers were not allowed to board the ship for inspection and were told to contact the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Their radio calls to the ship were ignored, she said. The U.S. Navy statement said that "the government of the Philippines was promptly informed of the incident and is being updated regularly."

Philippine military spokesman Maj. Oliver Banaria said the U.S. Navy did not request assistance from the Philippines.

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