STUCK IN TUBBATAHA. File photo of the USS Guardian during a port visit to Okinawa, Japan by the US Navy

A US Navy minesweeper runs aground near Tubbataha Reef early Thursday, damaging corals in the marine park. The US Pacific Fleet says the USS Guardian came from a routine port call in Subic on Monday. An error in navigation is seen as the cause of the grounding. A Tubbataha park official says the US Navy can expect to pay P12,000 per sqm of destroyed reefs once the damage is assessed. Tubbataha, a World Heritage Conservation Site and one of the world's best dive sites, is home to a huge variety of marine life species and coral.

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