[Buchal]

Does this seem a little strange? The boat is floating around on top of the reef, but cannot be dragged off? Is this a decision driven by some sort of environmentalist idiocy?

[The Cajun]

Fiber glassed wooden hull.
Probably torn to crap by the reef and would be ripped further apart by being dragged off.

[GreyHoundSailor]

Wooden/fiberglass hull doesn’t stand up well against coral. Would certainly sink if they pulled it off.

[PghBaldy]

It is stuck on a UNESCO World Heritage Site, of all places.

[PGR88]

Is this a decision driven by some sort of environmentalist idiocy?

I haven't seen anything that says it outright, but apparantly the reef is a UN "World Heritage Site" or something like that, a crane could not be used to lift it off because of fears of damaging the reef, and the Navy had to call in a tug from Malaysia to clean up some spilled diesel - so YES, I imagine the Navy Brass had to go into politically-correct environmental mode for this.

[Scrambler Bob]

The boat is floating around on top of the reef,
and
New found boyancy after fuel removal - - -

So they fill it back up with seawater....