Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef Damaged Yet Again, This Time By Chinese Vessel
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By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | April 9, 2013 2:58 PM EST
Just when the Philippines thought the worst is over yet for its endangered Tubbataha Reef, it faced yet another unfortunate incident on Monday night when a Chinese fishing vessel ran aground in the treasured marine sanctuary.
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The crane ships sent to lift up the grounded minesweeper USS Guardian from the Philippine Tubbataha Reef has been foreseen to add more injury to the reef since it would need to drop an anchor right smack into the corals to keep it steady.
The crane ships sent to lift up the grounded minesweeper USS Guardian from the Philippine Tubbataha Reef has been foreseen to add more injury to the reef since it would need to drop an anchor right smack into the corals to keep it steady.
But Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, Philippine Coast Guardspokesman, on Tuesday said damage inflicted by the Chinese fishing vessel fared relatively smaller in magnitude, and thus relatively cheaper in cost.
"It's a smaller vessel (compared with the USS Guardian)," Lt. Cmdr. Balilo said during an interview with a local radio station. The USS Guardian measures 224 feet in length, 39 feet in width with a displacement of 1,300 tonnes. Its last remaining part was finally extracted from Tubbataha Reef on March 30.
For this incident, the U.S. government owes the Philippines $1.4 million in compensation for damaging some 2,345 square meters of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
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The U.S. Navy, in a statement last week, said it had relieved the commanding officer and three members of the USS Guardian minesweeper's crew.
"The initial investigation findings clearly indicate that the CO, Lt. Cmdr. Mark A. Rice; the executive officer (XO)/navigator, Lt. Daniel Tyler; the assistant navigator; and the officer of the deck at the time of the grounding did not adhere to standard U.S. Navynavigation procedures," the Navy statement said. "The U.S. Navy has the highest accountability standards, and all four Sailors were relieved by Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley due to their role in the grounding and a loss of confidence."
The Chinese fishing vessel, with hull number 63168, ran aground in the area at 11:40 pm on Monday night and got stuck at 1.1 nautical miles east of the Tubbataha Ranger station. On board were 12 Chinese fishermen.
The area where the Chinese fishing vessel got stuck was far from that where the former US minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground last January 17, Lt. Cmdr. Balilo said.
Lt. Cmdr. Balilo said it will be up to the Tubbataha Management Office to decide whether to file charges against the fishermen.
Authorities believed the Chinese fishermen were most probably poachers and illegal entrants.
To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:e.misa@ibtimes..com.au
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