US navy salvage teams stripping USS Guardian of potentially

US Navy salvage teams are now stripping the USS Guardian (MCM-5) of all potentially hazardous materials.

Earlier, the US Navy safely transferred some 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel; 671 gallons of lubricating oil; paints and solvents contained in storage lockers; food supplies and personal properties left behind by the ship's crew.

"We continue to place extra scrutiny on removing everything we can to mitigate possible damage to the marine environment," said Rear Admiral Thomas Carney, the on-scene commander of the salvage operation.

Heavy lift floating cranes are now en route to the site in the Sulu Sea about 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island where the mine countermeasures ship ran aground in the early morning of Jan. 17 during a transit to Indonesia.

Naval architecture experts continue to develop a salvage plan that will involve using the cranes to safely extract the ship while mitigating damage to the reef. (PNA)