US Navy ship runs aground in Tubbataha

MANILA, Philippines - A US Navy minesweeper, the USS Guardian, ran aground at dawn yesterday in Tubbataha Reef off Palawan.

Maj. Oliver Banaria, commander of the 6th Civil Relations Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the mishap occurred at about 3 a.m. in the Sulu Sea about 98 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa City.

Banaria clarified that it was yet to be determined if the Guardian hit the corals or the shallow portion of Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage site and national marine park.

A surveillance plane and a Philippine Navy gunboat (PG-383) were dispatched to the area to check on the condition of the vessel and its crew.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the US embassy informed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef.

The ship remains stuck on the reef as the crew is still determining the best way to safely extract the ship.

The embassy informed the DFA that the grounding happened while the ship was transiting the Sulu Sea on its way to its next port of call after a port call in Subic.

“The cause of the grounding is still under investigation. The DFA is closely coordinating this matter with the US embassy and the DND (Department of National Defense), the AFP and the PCG (Philippine Coast Guard),” Hernandez said. “We expect that relevant agencies of the Philippine government will conduct their own investigation, assess the impact of the incident on the reef, and recommend any and all actions that must be taken.”

The US embassy said the Guardian, with a crew of 80, had just completed a port call at Subic Bay and was on its way to Puerto Princesa City.

The US Pacific Command (USPACOM) said that no crewmember of Guardian was hurt in the incident.

“The Avenger-Class 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 USPACOM’s 7th fleet said.

Last year, a Chinese warship also ran aground at Half Moon Shoal in the West Philippine Sea off Palawan. 

Meanwhile, the US military would deploy its vertical take-off transport and utility aircraft to Palawan for the scheduled joint Phl-US Marines war exercises in the West Philippine Sea next week.

A senior military official said the deployment of the V-22 Osprey vertical take-off aircraft is the first ever in any combined war games held in the country between the AFP and the US military under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

“The joint Marines war games would be held on Jan. 24 in Palawan, with the US Marines deploying the latest aircraft in their inventory,” the military official said.

He added that the US vertical take-off aircraft is highly suited for marine operations as it can airlift troops quickly to any conflict or disaster-stricken area because of its helicopter landing capability features.  – With Pia Lee-Brago