Salvaging operations for the USS Guardian began yesterday after the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) allowed a crane ship to lower its four anchors some 10 meters away from the protected area. Coast Guard Palawan district chief Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista said the Smit Borneo arrived at the site at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The crane ship is needed to chop off the 68-meter-long US Navy minesweeper into smaller parts. The sections would be transferred to another ship.

Macairan, E., & Cervantes, D. (2013, February 7). Salvaging operations for US ship in Tubbataha begin. The Philippine Star, p. 3.