With help from Filipino military and law-enforcement agencies and contractors, the Navy has finished removal of the grounded mine countermeasures ship Guardian from the site where it ran aground March 30. The Filipino crews helped the crane vessel Jacson remove Guardian’s 250-ton stern section March 30. When Guardian ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines’ Sulu Sea, authorities were concerned that impact and subsequent leakage of oil and water could damage the ecologically fragile site. No solvents or oil leaked from the Guardian, however, and crews successfully removed water before it leeched into the surrounding waters. The crews also removed salvageable equipment. The cleanup will be complete once crews comb the area for small pieces of debris and conduct a full environmental-impact assessment.
