U.S. Warship crashes in the waters of the Philippines

                            

MANILA, KOMPAS.com - Ship Navy minesweepers the United States (U.S. Navy) were reported stranded in the waters of the sanctuary in the Philippines, on Thursday (17/01/2013).

The entire crew was reported safe, but the incident was feared damage coral reefs in the waters.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila said the USS Guardian hit a cluster of coral in the waters of the Tubbataha National Marine Park in the Sulu Sea, about 640 kilometers southeast Manila, on Wednesday (01/16/2013) evening local time. Marine park has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites.

The U.S. Navy said the accident occurred when a 68 meter warship had just left the port in Subic Bay, once a U.S. military base. Not known for sure what the purpose of the ship was in the Philippines, but only mentioned going through "normal transit".

Angelique Songco, Head of Protected Areas Management Board, said that the ship does not look skewed or is leaking fuel. However, about 15 percent of the ship's bow section was seen wedged on the reef. "Looks like the ship was not damaged," Songco said, after flying over the location of the shipwreck of the ship on board Philippine Air Force property.

The crew members were reported to be trying to find the best way to free the ship from the cluster of coral where he foundered. According to Songco, the vessel may be released during high tides in the region occurred on Thursday afternoon.

U.S. sailors on the warship has prohibited the Tubbataha National Park guards boarded the ship, to conduct the review. Calls to the ship's radio was also not returned.

Exact cause is not known minesweeper was stranded. "The most likely cause is the misnavigasi," said Maj. Oliver Banaria, Philippine military spokesman on the island of Palawan.

Philippines is one of the key U.S. ally in Southeast Asia. During the decades of the Cold War, the port of Subic Bay to the U.S. Navy base, until 1992.

Today, despite not being an official military base, the U.S. military ships are still a frequent visitor to rest, refuel, recreation and conduct joint military exercises with Philippine troops. Activity is increasing in the U.S. policy to refocus military force in the Asia Pacific region. (AP / AFP / DHF)