The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has ordered an immediate assessment of the environmental damage on the Tubbataha Reefs after a United States Ship ran aground there Thursday last week.
The US Navy minesweeper that ran aground on a coral reef remained stuck at the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park for the second day on Friday but most of the US sailors had left the ship for safety reasons after initial efforts to free the vessel failed, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement on Friday.
Environment officials on Friday began assessing the damage to the coral reefs in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park after they were grazed by a US Navy minesweeper last Thursday, saying the US government may be liable to pay fines of up to P1 million.
