By The Associated Press

Published: Saturday, January 19, 2013, 7:58 p.m.
Updated: Saturday, January 19, 2013

MANILA — An inaccurate map that mislocated a marine sanctuary may have caused a Navy minesweeper to run aground on a coral reef in the Philippines last week, the Navy said on Saturday.

All 79 officers and crew of the USS Guardian were taken off the ship for safety reasons after it struck the reef with its bow at 2 a.m. Thursday.

The Navy's Pacific Fleet, based in Hawaii, said that its ships along with several support vessels continue to conduct salvage operations that minimize environmental effects to the reef.

The Navy said in a statement that a review of Digital Nautical Charts, which are used for safe navigation by all Navy ships, found they contained inaccurate data and may have been a factor in the Guardian's grounding.

As a result, Rear Adm. Jonathan White, navigator of the Navy, released precautionary guidance to all Pacific Fleet ships, saying that “initial review of navigation data indicates an error in the location of Tubbataha Reef” in the Philippines.

1. Iranian soldiers fighting for Syria, State contends
2. Suicide stuns visitors to Notre Dame Cathedral
3. Toronto mayor ducks questions about crack video
4. Egyptian troops mistakenly hit funeral
5. Key omissions on final Iranian candidate list put riot police on guard in Tehran
6. Pontiff dips into politics
7. Russia ousts U.S. diplomat Fogle for spying
8. Scottish cardinal to atone for sexual misconduct
9. North Korea fires projectile into eastern waters, 4th test in 2 days
10. Venezuela opposition: Cuba calls the shots

There are currently no comments for this story.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.