US Pays Philippines $1.97M for Reef Damage

The U.S. government has a made a $1.97 million payment to the Philippines for damages to a protected coral reef caused by a U.S. Navy minesweeper.

The USS Guardian ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in January 2013. The park's management, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and marine experts said that 25,240 square feet of corrals were damaged, according to the Navy Times. After the ship ran aground on the reef, it was dismantled piece by piece to prevent further damage.

The funds will be used to protect the reef and improve monitoring of the area. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. embassy apologized for the incident while the U.S. Pacific Fleet relieved the ship's commanding officer, executive officer and navigator, assistant navigator, and officer on deck after investigators determined they had not complied with standard navigation procedures before the grounding, the Philippine Start reported.

This is not the first time a ship has run aground on the reef. In 2005, the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior II damaged 1,076 square feet of the reef and paid a $7,000 fine. Greenpeace officials blamed the accident on outdated maps provided by the Philippines government, the BBC reported.