US Navy salvage teams are now placing stable Kevlar lines at the hull of the grounded USS Guardian (MCM-5) which ran aground at Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea last Jan. 17.
This effort is meant to reduce the strain the minesweeper is receiving due to constant wave actions, the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement.
Aside from this, US Navy ship salvage and maritime architecture experts continue to develop the salvage plan and perform work to reinforce the structure of the stricken vessel.
The US Navy reported that no fuel has leaked since the grounding, and all of the ship's approximately 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel was safely transferred to the US-contracted Malaysian tugboat, Vos Apollo, during controlled defueling operations completed last Jan. 25.
Two heavy lift ship-borne cranes have been contracted to support the salvage operations, and are due to arrive at the area by Feb. 1.
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