No one was hurt when the mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian (MCM 5) ran aground on Tubbataha Reef at 2:25 a.m. local time, Jan. 17, while transiting the Sulu Sea.
The Avenger-class ship had just completed a port call in Subic Bay, Olongapo City and was en route to her next port of call when the grounding occurred. The ship is currently stuck on the reef, approximately 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island. The crew is currently working to determine the best method of safely extracting the ship.
The cause of the grounding is under investigation.
Guardian, forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, was commissioned Dec. 16, 1989, and has a crew of about 80.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, January 17, 2013