US Navy to scrap $277m warship grounded on Philippine reef

The USS Guardian (R) at the Tubbataha reef after it ran aground, in western island of Palawan, while another US vessel stands by. The US Navy will have to break it into pieces and then move it (AFP/Getty Images)

The US Navy plans to dismantle a $277m (£174m) minesweeper that ran aground on a coral reef off the Philippines because removing it intact would cause more damage to the reef and the hull.

There is also a chance that the USS Guardian may break up or sink if crews tried to remove it without taking it apart first, said Captain Darryn James, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour. "We really do care about being good stewards of the environment," he added.

The Philippines is now reviewing the US plan to break the ship into pieces and remove it using floating cranes.