I sure never expected that this would happen.... (Not an April fools joke) View attachment 9216 The US has still not explained why the ship ran aground in an area clearly marked on maps [Reuters] The Philippines has welcomed the removal of a US minesweeper that had been stuck on a protected coral reef for 10 weeks, but stressed that compensation must be paid for the environmental damage. Salvage crews contracted by the US navy on Saturday extracted the last remaining piece of the USS Guardian from the Tubbataha reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site in a remote area of the Sulu Sea. "We maintain there must be accountability and we will enforce our existing laws," said Herminio Coloma, a spokesman for president Benigno Aquino. "We will adopt needed measures to prevent a repetition (of the incident)," he said. Controversy over US presence Initial investigation showed that the ship had damaged about 4,000 square metres of the reef, famous for its rich marine life that divers say rivals that of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Tubbataha is a protected marine park under Philippine law, and is off limits to any vessel unless permission is granted by park authorities. Fines can reach up to $585 for every square metre that has been damaged, officials said. While only a small portion of the marine park has been damaged, the incident has stoked nationalist sentiment and revived debate about a controversial agreement that allows a US military presence in the country. The United States has repeatedly apologised for the incident, but has not clearly explained why a naval vessel with state-of-the-art equipment ran aground in an area that local officials said was clearly visible in any map. The US embassy in Manila said the 68-metre vessel was en route to Indonesia when the incident happened in January. Angelique Songco, head of the Tubbataha Management Office that oversees the marine park, said US and Philippine divers would remain in the area for further clean-up operations to ensure no debris was left behind.
Well, that is a very fair comment from the Philippine Government, much softer attitude than what would come from the USA if the reverse was the case I suspect
There have been some reports that the charts used put the reef some 7 nautical miles from where it actually was. Still wonder what was going on on the bridge, No one watching the sonar? No lookout reporting shoaling water ahead???
The Philippines expects payment, but shouldn't they cut the U.S. some slack? After all who does the Philippines (almost always!) come running to when they need () help? If the U.S. does pay, how will the be spent? A lighthouse? Navigational markers? What?
Totally fair request for compensation actually. The US received compensation from BP over the Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as only one small example.
I believe the US should pay up. However, I saw some young kid on the news saying a payout should be equivalent to the one the US did with the state of Hawaii on a similar incident. Need to take into consideration the workers wage difference in the two areas. A local worker in Hawaii would run you at least 2000 an hour as where here it would cost you 200 a day here. The cost of repairs would be significantly lower here.......but they hear someone got paid 300 million USD for their reef so they want more since their reef was more damaged. Perhaps the US should charge the Philippines for fuel, crew salaries and rental of naval vessels time when they want a US ship to protect their sovereignty. Don't bite the hand.
Not a particularly good example in my opoinion. One involving an arm of a government, the other a publicly traded, privately owned corporation which committed gross criminal negligence and caused loss of life in their quest for profit. I think the ecological damage may be a little greater in one case than the other.
