Navy's ship likely to remain stuck for a couple more weeks

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy minesweeper USS Guardian — stuck on a protected reef off the coast of the Philippines for a week — will most likely stay there up to two more weeks, Navy officials said Thursday.

Rear Adm. Tom Carney, Joint Group Unit Guardian commander, said two contracted heavy-lift ships from Singapore are scheduled to arrive next Wednesday or Thursday at the site near Palawan Island to begin removing the stranded ship. The work ultimately depends on conditions at sea and efforts to stabilize the vessel and lighten its load.

During a news conference with Philippine military representatives in Palawan, Carney acknowledged that the 224-foot Guardian has moved significantly in the surf on Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage Site; had been badly damaged with several breaches in the hull, had taken on a “significant” amount of water and now lay 20-30 yards from the edge of the reef with a 10-degree list.

“[The Guardian] will have to be lifted off onto another ship or barge to leave the area,” Carney said. “Right now, the ship could not maneuver on its own and is not operational… The ship is too badly damaged [to be towed] unfortunately.”

The comments came a day after Navy officials announced a Military Sealift Command salvage ship, the USNS Salvor, and a Malaysian tug, Vos Apollo, were also on their way to aid the vessel.

The Vos Appollo began rigging lines to defuel the vessel Wednesday but was not able to due to sea conditions, Philippine military representatives told the news conference. The Salvor is scheduled to arrive Thursday evening with divers and salvage equipment. They will make repairs and work to stabilize the ship, Carney said.

For the past two days, Navy and contracted salvage divers have been fighting rough seas to assess the water inside the Guardian and damage, plug some of the holes, secure items onboard so they don’t go over the side, and ready items to be removed to lighten the ship’s weight, Carney said. He hoped they would be able to start pumping out the 15,000 gallons of fuel Thursday.

Once the lift ships from Singapore arrive, some of the heavy items will be off-loaded while Navy architects assess how much water is inside and devise a plan to get lift equipment under the ship. The Guardian will be lifted by crane and placed on a ship or barge.

Carney said it was a “complex” salavage operation and could take as long as two weeks.

“I want to express my deepest regret for the circumstances we are in right now,” Carney said. “We are absolutely committed to removing the ship from the reef as soon as possible. That is the focus of all of our efforts.”

No one was injured when the Avenger-class mine countermeasure ship ran aground around 2:25 a.m. on Jan. 17 while transiting the Sulu Sea after a port visit in Subic Bay.

The Guardian’s crew of 79 was removed the next day as a safety precaution. The crew and officers are being interviewed and charts studied as the investigation into the incident continues, Carney said.

Navy officials have indicated faulty digital navigation charts may have led to the grounding. Carney said conditions, visibility and other navigational aids were also being looked at.

In the meantime, environmental concerns are rising the longer the ship stays on the reef.

“If the weather deteriorates, we can expect more damage,” Park administrator Angelique Songco said. “Another week of this? Unfortunately, yes… It is really sad.”

*Based upon The Holy Bible’s view of homosexualality.

Some folks do not know exactly where to look: I'll help...

Genesis 13:13

Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Genesis 18:20-21
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Genesis 19:4-7
4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.
5. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7. and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.

Psalms 12:8 The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.

Ain't this just FABULOUS?? More?

Isaiah 3:9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.

2 Peter 2:13b Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

Ezekiel 16:49-50
49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

2 Peter 2

1. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5. if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6. if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7. and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8. (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
9. if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
10. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
11. yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
12. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
13. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

But there IS hope!!!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

If you could NOT change, you would be in most pitiful shape...

“How they gonna SLIDE that thing UNDER the ship?”

They almost certainly will not. My bet is that they will lighten the minesweeper until it floats. (Add pumps to ensure water goes out faster than it comes in.) and then tow it off the reef. THEN they put it on the lift ship.

It is also likely they are waiting until there is a lift ship to put it on before refloating it. That bit about pumping water out faster than it flows in is simple, but not easy. Or it might simply take time to lighten the Guardian and make the patches they need to make before attempting to refloat the ship.

Nor it is unusual for the navy to hire lift ship. Having their own lift ship would require a crew that could otherwise be assigned to a warship. A navy lift ship would sit around idle most of the time unless contracted to civilian work. In which case, the ship would be primarily used for commerical, not naval, activities, and we know what it is like when the government attempts to run a commercial business.

Historically, train operations and logistics (both naval and military) were contracted out to civilians. It was only during the age of conscription (call it 1870-1970) that those activities were run by naval and military personnel. In an era of professional naval and military it makes more sense to ship that kind of stuff back to civilians.

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