US Navy ship damages coral reef
2013-01-23 12:00
Manila – Some 1 000m² of coral reef in a World Heritage Site in the Philippines were damaged by a US Navy ship that ran aground in the marine sanctuary, the coast guard said.
The initial assessment was made by US Navy and Philippine coast guard teams that checked on the USS Guardian, which has been stuck at the Tubbataha National Marine Park off Palawan province, 600km south of Manila, since January 17.
"Based on the initial findings, more or less 1 000 square metres of the reef were damaged," Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, spokesman for the Philippine coast guard said.
Angelique Songco, superintendent of the Tubbataha Management Office, expressed dismay about the extent of the damage.
"It's a staggering figure," she told a Manila cable news television. "We were hoping it was smaller."
Songco said the US Navy would be fined an estimated 24 million pesos (600 000 dollars) which covers the penalty for the damage to the reef and restoration cost.
"I don't think 24 million pesos is a fair price, but that's the price indicated in the law," Songco said.
"The damage to the reef is escalating. If it remains there a few more days, can you imagine what's going to happen?" she said.
Balilo said the extraction team plans to lighten the 1 300 ton Guardian by removing fuel and equipment before attempting to remove it from the reef.
The US Navy apologized for the accident and said the may have been caused by a faulty navigation chart.
In 2005, environmental activist group Greenpeace was fined almost 7 000 dollars when its ship ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef. The group blamed an inaccurate chart.
