The M/T Jascon, due to arrive from Singapore next week, intends to lift the heavy section of the grounded USS Guardian clear of the reef.
The Jascon is equipped with a DP system which will enable it to maintian position without anchoring. Meanwhile another Singapore vessel Smit Borneo is currently at the site and can lift smaller pieces weighing up to 500 tons that have been cut off from the Guardian, reports 'The Philippine Star'.
The US Navy has hired the services of salvaging ships M/T Trabajador 1 of Malayan Towage and Salvaging Corp. and the Vos Apollo of a Malaysian company based in Singapore to assist the Smit Borneo in the task. The US Navy’s USNS Salvor is also at the site.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Tubbataha Reef a World Heritage Site in December 1993. Philippines' Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has formed a team to help in the rehabilitation of the damaged parts of the reef which involves gathering coral materials from damaged reefs, cultivating them in nurseries and transplanting them back to repopulate the reefs.
Source: The Philippine Star