Ship Broken Up On Reef

For John, BLUF:  Another US Navy ship stricken from the list.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

A while ago (17 January of this year) the US Navy ran a minesweeper, the USS GUARDIAN,♠ aground on Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea in Philippine waters.♥  The reef was a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As the minesweeper couldn't be floated free, it was decided to cut it up and lift it off the reef in parts.  The Daily Mail has a series of photographs of the operation.  Note that the hull is made of wood (and fiber), to allow it to better sweep magnetic mines.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Actually, no longer USS GUARDIAN, since it was decommissioned and struck from the list on 15 February of this year.
♥  I am sure the Chinese Government is claiming it is Chinese waters, but then they are claiming everything they can these days and could get us all into a shooting situation.