An operation to remove a US Navy ship stuck on a coral reef in the Philippines is expected to take months, a coast guard official said Tuesday.
The US Navy is working on a plan to remove the minesweeper USS Guardian from the Tubbataha Marine National Park, a World Heritage Site off Palawan province, by April.
"That's part of the salvage plan that they submitted," coast guard commandant Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena said.
"It might be more, it might be less. Hopefully, the operation will be completed by April. It may be earlier or it may be later, depending on the condition in the area."
The ship has been stuck since January 17, when it ran aground en route to a port call in nearby Puerto Princesa.
Philippine authorities said the accident damaged up to 4,000 square meters of coral reef.
The US Navy has proposed a plan to chop up the ship to avoid causing more damage to the marine sanctuary.
A crane barge hired from Singapore had arrived in the Philippines and was en route to the area, Isorena said.
US Ambassador Harry Thomas assured Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario that the US "will provide appropriate compensation for damage to the reef by the ship," according to a joint statement.
"The two governments agreed to continue to work closely together as the salvage operation and the investigation into the grounding proceed," it said.