Salvage operation to begin in Tubbataha

Carlos Santamaria

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

(2nd UPDATE) The crane ship gets customs clearance, but rough seas delay the start of the salvage operation until Monday

ON SITE. The Jascon 25 crane vessel is already on site and waiting to start cutting up the USS Guardian into pieces. Graphic by Bardo Wu

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – The crane ship tasked with leading the salvaging of the USS Guardian has arrived in Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, but rough seas delayed the start of the operation until Monday, Philippine and US officials said on Sunday, February 17.

“Yes, the Jascon 25 is at the salvage site,” US Navy spokesman Lt Frederick Martin told Rappler.

Martin said that “preliminary salvage operations, dependent on weather and sea conditions,” are expected to start as soon as the weather improves and after the vessel tests the Dynamic Position System (DPS) technology that allows the Jascon 25 to operate without anchoring.

“I can not predict what they will accomplish today, or if it will include removing any equipment from the USS Guardian,” added the American officer.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Cdr Armand Balilo said that the Jascon 25 arrived around 10 pm on Saturday, only a few hours behind schedule after its departure from Japan.

The Gibraltar-flagged Jascon 25 will be the lead crane ship in the salvage operation, after the SMIT Borneo was unable to successfully anchor in deep water, to prevent further damage to the reef.

SITTING ON THE REEF. An experienced team of salvage professionals are ready to dismantle the 23-year-old USS Guardian and safely remove the minesweeper from the reef. February 8 photo courtesy of US Navy

Unfavorable weather, sea conditions

At around 7 am, a group of 5 customs officials flew to the site in a helicopter and boarded the crane ship to inspect it before issuing a certificate of clearance, PCG Palawan Cmdr Efren Evangelista told Rappler.

Following the inspection, the SMIT Borneo was ordered to move from its position near the USS Guardian so the Jascon 25 could take its place near the American minesweeper and begin transferring equipment and personnel for the salvage operation, he added.

“However, strong winds, unfavorable weather and sea conditions at the site made the transfer unsafe to be conducted,” Evangelista.

The PCG officer explained that authorities on site are now trying to implement Plan B: tow both crane ships closer together with one of the two tugboats on site “to facilitate transfer of personnel and salvage equipment.”

If that operation is successful, Evangelista said, the salvage operation of the USS Guardian will begin at 6 am on Monday. 

The minesweeper ran aground exactly one month ago inside the protected area of the marine park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations.

Graphic by Matt Hebrona

Meet the Jascon 25

The 112.8×30.4 m Jascon 25, property of Netherlands-based international salvage company Sea Trucks Group, is a special vessel normally used for laying underwater pipelines and other offshore infrastructure.

Its main crane is capable of hoisting 800 metric tons from a distance of 30 m and 50 tons underwater from 720 m, apart from an auxiliary crane designed to assist the main one.

Although the SMIT Borneo arrived ahead of the Jascon 25, the former was scrapped as the lead ship after it was unable to anchor in deep water to prevent further damage to the reef, currently estimated at around 4,000 sqm by Tubbataha officials.

The Jascon 25 however can operate from a fixed position without having to anchor thanks to the DPS technology.

According to the Sea Trucks Group website, the crane ship also has a “large unobstructed main deck [and] large scale offshore accommodation capacity.”

Infographic by Matt Hebrona

The vessel boasts of “fully air-conditioned permanent accommodation for up to 351 persons in cabins all with individual bathroom facilities, conference room, offices, cinema, gymnasium, recreation room [and] laundry as well as a medic room with hospital.”

It also features two main fire pumps, a helped and a sewage treatment plant, although 15,000 gallons of fuel, flammable liquids and waste water from the crew have already been removed from the USS Guardian.

Four years ago, the Jascon 25 performed the heaviest ever completed lifts of subsea structures weighing 650-710 at an offshore underwater pipeline in northwestern Australia.

The original salvage plan for Tubbataha was for the cranes to lift the whole USS Guardian from the reef, but the Americans later changed their mind and decided to dismantle the minesweeper into sections and transfer these to a barge with the cranes, without moving the vessel to minimize damage to the coral.

The Jascon 25 and the SMIT Borneo belong to different companies but both are part of the same $25 million contract signed by the US Department of Defense for private salvaging firms to remove the USS Guardian from the reef. Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!