US Navy ship aground on the Palawan Shoals

[JamesSavik]

Crew evacuated from Navy minesweeper stuck on Philippine reef

By Brad Lendon, CNN

updated 9:40 AM EST, Fri January 18, 2013

 

http://us.cnn.com/2013/01/18/world/asia/navy-ship-aground/index.html

 

(CNN) -- The U.S. Navy has evacuated all 79 crew members from a minesweeper that ran aground Thursday on a reef in the Philippines, the Navy's Seventh Fleet said in a statement Friday.

The 224-foot-long,1,312-ton ship was on its way from Subic Bay to its next port call when it struck the Tubbataha Reef, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east-southeast of Palawan Island in the Sulu Sea, the Navy said.

Initial efforts to free the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship at high tide were unsuccessful, and the crew was transferred by small boats to the USNS Bowditch and the MSV C-Champion, ships of the Military Sealift Command, according to the Navy statement.

"Seventh Fleet ships remain on scene and essential Guardian sailors will continue conducting survey operations onboard the ship as needed until she is recovered," Vice Adm. Scott Swift, U.S. Seventh Fleet commander, said in a statement. "Several support vessels have arrived and all steps are being taken to minimize environmental effects while ensuring the crew's continued safety."

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to threatened and endangered marine species, including fish, corals and sharks.

"The site is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100-meter perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons and two coral islands," according to the UNESCO website.

The cause of the grounding was under investigation, the Navy said.

 

__________________________________________

 

The waters off Palawan in the Philippine Islands have been labeled on charts as far back as the 1600s as "Dangerous ground".

In World War II it played a part in the Battle for Leyte Gulf in Oct. 1944. The reef forced the main body of the Japanese fleet into a narrow channel of the Palawan Passage were they were set upon by US submarines Darter and Dace. Two heavy cruisers were sunk, one of them the fleet flagship, and a third was so badly damaged that she was out of the war.

The reef was severe to both sides. Darter went aground on the Palawan shoals and had to be abandoned the following day. Her hulk remains there to this day.

-JS

Edited January 18, 2013 by jamessavik

[PrivateTim]

Hmmm someone's career just came to a grinding halt.

[Celethiel]

oh noes...

 

Hmmm someone's career just came to a grinding halt.

yes the captians... as ultimately they're responsible for what happens to the ship.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Celethiel

[joann414]

You find such interesting things James.  Glad I am not the captain.

[Rilbur]

Hmmm someone's career just came to a grinding halt.

Pretty much my first thought as well.

[W_L]

As first, it sounds like a naval exercise gone wrong.

 

My first though is that the incident weakens the US foreign policy position in the pacific in the big picture as well. It seems strange that as China is having territorial disputes with both the Philippines and Japan, who are both backed by US naval forces; a US ship would run aground in an area notoriously known from history (I am a huge history guy and the Battle of Leyte Gulf is one of the most interesting naval battles of in history, being the last time major surface fleets actually faced each other in open battle).

[JamesSavik]

The Palawan shoals hold the wreaks of ships that go back as far back as the bronze age.

 

In WWII the super-battleship Musashi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi) was sunk near the shoals in the Palawan Passage in the phase of the Battle for Leyte Gulf called the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. The Battle for Leyte Gulf was so large that it took several days and consisted of four different engagements.

 

China is looking at those waters for possible sources of oil and natural gas.

 

So far, they haven't found much. Some explorers/speculators think the geology is favorable while others do not. Only time will tell. There are two tectonic plate at play. The Chinese side has been bare so far while the Philippine side is rich. There is (or were) significant oil fields in present day Indonesia and the Philippines(Davao specifically). Prior to WWII they were run by the Dutch and were a primary target of the Japanese when they went on a tear in 1941.

Edited January 19, 2013 by jamessavik

[Celethiel]

As first, it sounds like a naval exercise gone wrong.

 

My first though is that the incident weakens the US foreign policy position in the pacific in the big picture as well. It seems strange that as China is having territorial disputes with both the Philippines and Japan, who are both backed by US naval forces; a US ship would run aground in an area notoriously known from history (I am a huge history guy and the Battle of Leyte Gulf is one of the most interesting naval battles of in history, being the last time major surface fleets actually faced each other in open battle).

yes China's gone a long way from the time Japan could invade them...

[C James]

Generally speaking, a reef has the right of way over a ship, so the ship ought not to expect the reef to yield.

[hh5]

Doesn't the reef show up on radar? lol, this is a one year anniversary to last years ship accident in italy

will the Philippines try to salvage the ship and add it to their navy lol??

[JamesSavik]

Doesn't the reef show up on radar?

 

Radar detects things above the waterline. Reefs, shoals or shallows are underwater. Some types of radar may pick up waves breaking over the shallows but not the reef itself.

 

Sonar works under the water and can easily find them.

 

Usually the way to avoid them is more a function of navigation by not going near them than finding them with sensors.

 

The US Navy is still trying to salvage the ship.

 

The whole mess has been a rather large embarrassment to the Navy.

[Celethiel]

we need to be embarressed every once in a while...

It helps bring us americans down to earth... though we have a way to go

[hh5]

1US-2Italy

we're in league with the Italians last year ... but they did it on purpose on a dare ... whats our reason?

we need to be embarressed every once in a while...

It helps bring us americans down to earth... though we have a way to go