12/25/2013 USS GUARDIAN CONTINUING COVERAGE

USS GUARDIAN CAN NOT BE TOWED OFF REEF OR TOWED TO REPAIR YARD DUE TO LEAKING AND EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. FUEL MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE THE NEXT STAGE OF SALVAGE OPERATION.

THE WEATHER WINDOW WILL NOT LAST FOREVER.

USNS SALVOR coming to the rescue

USS GUARDIAN IN BETTER DAYS

The Washington Post carried a story today of the Senior Naval Officer present declaring the GUARDIAN unsafe to be towed off the reef or towed to destination. She is going to have to be lifted off the reef after her fuel is transferred. More equipment has to be brought to the scene and the fuel transfer alone is estimated to require more than 48 hours. The weather window will not last forever.
A lead in and link to the Washington Post story is below:

"MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground on a Philippine reef is damaged and taking on water and will have to be lifted off the rocks in an operation that could last another week or two, a Navy official said Thursday.

Before the USS Guardian can be removed from the Tubbataha Reef, about 56,000 liters (15,000 gallons) of fuel will be siphoned off to avoid spills, Rear Adm. Thomas Carney, commander of the Navy’s Logistics Group in the Western Pacific, told reporters."......"


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-ship-stuck-on-philippine-reef-taking-in-lots-of-water-fuel-to-be-drained-before-removal/2013/01/23/361f6e30-65d6-11e2-889b-f23c246aa446_story.html?wprss=rss_social-world-headlines