Chinese Boat Loaded with Illegal Cargo of Endangered Species Ran Aground on Protected Tubbataha Reef

You can’t make this stuff up. Only a week after the last wreckage of the minesweeper USS Guardian was removed from the reef in the Philippines’  Tubbataha National Marine Park, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site, where it ran hard aground on January … Continue reading

USS Guardian Decommissioned in Japan While Salvage Delayed on Reef by Weather

Today in Japan, the US Navy officially decommissioned the minesweeper USS Guardian.  On the Tubbataha Reef, where the ship ran aground on January 17, salvage operations have again been delayed by bad weather.  The salvage plan is to cut the ship into pieces and to haul … Continue reading

Minesweeper USS Guardian Runs Aground on Reef in Philippines’ Tubbataha National Marine Park

The minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground early this morning on a reef in the Philippines’ Tubbataha National Marine Park. The park is a World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea, 640 kilometers (400 miles) southeast of Manila.  USS Guardian is an … Continue reading

South China Sea – Is the Cold War Between China and its Neighbors Heating Up?

Last month we posted about a stand-off between Chinese fishing vessels and Philippine Coast Guard ships at Scarborough Shoal in the South China  Sea.  Both nations claim sovereignty over the area. Even the island name is in contention. The Philipines refers to Scarborough Shoal as Panatag … Continue reading

Large Reward for Whistle-blowing Engineer on M/V Aquarosa

When US Coast Guard inspectors came aboard the bulk carrier M/V Aquarosa in Baltimore in February of 2011, a junior engineer slipped them a note, which read, “I have sometheng to till you but secret.”  The engineer, Salvatore Lopez, from the Philippines, had collected evidence of the illegal … Continue reading

The Pineapple has landed – 5 missing Americans arrive in Philippines

Five sailors aboard the catamaran Pineapple, which had been reported missing last Tuesday have arrived in the port of Maasin on Leyte Island, in the Philippines after being escorted in by the Philippines Coast Guard.   The 38 foot catamaran suffered rudder damage in … Continue reading

South China Braces for “Super-Typhoon” Megi

After killing more than 20 people in the Philippines and lashing Taiwan, where dozens are reported missing, “super-typhoon” Megi is poised to make landfall in South China today or Saturday.  Typhoon Megi is the the strongest storm to hit the region in more than … Continue reading