Naval Forces West via Reuters

Twelve Chinese fishermen were charged with poaching offenses on Wednesday after their vessel ran aground on Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Philippines. According to the Philippines' GMA News, the fishermen could face up to 12 years in prison under Filipino law.

The USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy minesweeper, was grounded on the same reef in January.

Philippine Coast Guard via Reuters

A member of the Philippine Coast Guard, left, talks to Chinese fishermen aboard their vessel on April 9, 2013.

Ted Aljibe / AFP - Getty Images

A protester donning a snorkel and holding placards attends a rally in front of the Chinese consular office in the financial district of Manila on April 10, 2013, after a Chinese fishing vessel ran aground off Tubbataha reef, around 1,000 miles from China's nearest major landmass.

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South Korean coast guard clashes with armada of Chinese fishing boats

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelby Sanders / U.S. Navy

Feb. 8, 2013: The USS Guardian sits aground on Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea 22 days after it was grounded.

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim / U.S. Navy

March 2: The second deck level is guided onto the U.S. Navy contracted vessel M/V Jascon 25.

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim / U.S. Navy

March 9: Contractors remove an exhaust pipe section.

The USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground in a protected marine sanctuary off the Philippines on Jan. 17, has been painstakingly taken apart, piece by piece, over the past two months.

The Navy has been working alongside the Philippine coast guard and a contracted crane vessel to dismantle and extract the ship from the Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea.

The Navy said in January that the 224-foot Guardian was "beyond economical repair." They decided that the only supportable salvage option was to dismantle it in sections due to the deteriorating integrity of the ship, its weight, and where it was grounded on the reef.

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim / U.S. Navy

March 12: The M/V Jascon 25 and the tugboat Archon Tide are positioned next to the Guardian during salvage operations.

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik / U.S. Navy

March 11: Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Brandon Berry, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, grinds through steel in the engine room compartment in preparation for removal of machinery.

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik / U.S. Navy

March 13: A civilian crew member of the M/V Jascon 25 guides an engine salvaged from the Guardian.

Aaron Favila / AP

March 18: Filipino protesters shout slogans during a rally near the U.S. Embassy in Manila in protest at the alleged destruction of the coral reef by the USS Guardian.

The ship's bow was lifted on to a barge on Tuesday and the remaining sections of the wood and fiberglass hull are expected to be removed over the next few days, according to a report in Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper. The salvage operation has had to be suspended several times due to adverse weather.

The incident damaged at least 1,200 square yards of coral reef, according to an initial, conservative estimate by the Philippine coast guard, leading to protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report 

Philippine Coast Guard via EPA

March 26: The bow of the ship is raised.

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik / U.S. Navy

March 21: Navy Diver 2nd Class Matthew Costa, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, guides a piece of equipment being lifted from the engine room compartment.

Philippine Coast Guard via EPA

March 26: A view inside the bow.

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelby Sanders / U.S. Navy via Getty Images

March 26: The bow is raised by a crane on the M/V Jascon 25.

Related:

Dennis M. Sabangan / EPA

Protesters throw a bench from a balcony following an apparent suicide by a college freshman at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila on March 18.

Protesting students at the Polytechnic University of Philippines created a bonfire of furniture to mourn a freshman who apparently committed suicide last week after she was forced to suspend her studies because of her inability to pay her tuition. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, classes were canceled on Monday to mourn 16-year-old Kristel Tejada and student organizations vowed to continue protests against school policies on tuition fees.

Dennis M. Sabangan / EPA

Chairs and tables are burned by student protesters.

Dennis M. Sabangan / EPA

Student protesters throw a chair.

Dennis M. Sabangan / EPA

Pilar Pangalinan, 75, holds pictures of her late granddaughter Kristel Tejada during a wake in Manila on March 18.

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David Loh / Reuters

A juvenile whale shark approaches a feeder on a paddleboat off the beach of Tan-awan, Oslob, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu February 28.

David Loh / Reuters

Whale sharks looking for food approach paddleboats off the beach of Tan-awan, Oslob, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu, March 1.

David Loh / Reuters

A whale shark approaches a feeder boat off the beach of Tan-awan, Oslob, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu March 1.

David Loh / Reuters

Snorkelers swim next to a whale shark as it approaches a feeder boat off the beach of Tan-awan, Oslob, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu March 1. Tan-awan, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu, used to be a sleepy village that never saw tourists unless they were lost or in transit. Yet now they flock there by the hundreds - to swim with whale sharks, the world's largest fish. Whale sharks are lured to the Tan-awan coastline of the Oslob district by fishermen who hand feed them small shrimp, drawing divers and snorkelers to see the highly sought-after animals, known as gentle giants of the sea. But the practice has sparked fierce debate on the internet and among biologists, who decry it as unnatural.

By David Loh, Reuters

Tan-awan, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu, used to be a sleepy village that never saw tourists unless they were lost or in transit. Yet now they flock there by the hundreds - to swim with whale sharks, the world's largest fish.

Whale sharks are lured to the Tan-awan coastline of the Oslob district by fishermen who hand feed them small shrimp, drawing divers and snorkelers to see the highly sought-after animals, known as gentle giants of the sea.But the practice has sparked fierce debate on the internet and among biologists, who decry it as unnatural.

"Some people are asking that we stop feeding, but if we stop feeding, what is our livelihood?" said Ramonito Lagahid, vice chairman of the Tan-awan Oslob Sea Warden and Fishermen Association (TOSWFA). "We have to go back to fishing." Continue reading.

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Bullit Marquez / AP

Filipino theater artist Monique Wilson flashes the No.1 sign with students from St. Scholastica's College, an all-girls' school,  as they dance at their campus as part of a global campaign dubbed One Billion Rising, to end violence against women and children on Valentine's Day Thursday Feb. 14, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. Thousands of women and children in various cities in the country danced in the streets, in malls and other places to express support for the One Billion Rising Campaign which also counts Australia and New Zealand as the first countries "to rise" for the campaign.

Bullit Marquez / AP

Students from St. Scholastica's College, an all-girls' school, flash the No.1 sign as they dance at their campus in a global kickoff campaign dubbed One Billion Rising, to end violence against women and children on Valentine's Day Thursday Feb. 14, 2013 in Manila, Philippines.

AFP - WESCOM via EPA

A photo released on Jan. 20, 2013 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (AFP-WESCOM) shows the US Navy ship USS Guardian remaining stuck in the vicinity of the Tubbataha Reef, western Philippines, on Jan. 19.

The U.S. Navy ship USS Guardian remains stuck on a reef off the Philippines four days after the minesweeper ran aground.

In a statement, the U.S. Navy said preliminary findings of a review by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency found that digital navigation chart data was inaccurate and had "misplaced the location of Tubbataha Reef." This "may have been a factor in the Guardian grounding."

"While the erroneous navigation chart data is important information, no one should jump to conclusions," U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Darryn James was quoted as saying in the statement. "It is critical that the U.S. Navy conduct a comprehensive investigation that assesses all the facts surrounding the Guardian grounding."

Wescom via AFP - Getty Images

The USS Guardian remains trapped on the Tubbataha Reef in a photo taken on Ja. 19, 2013 and released on Jan. 20.

Photographs showed the ship had moved on the reef. Initially it was pointed bow first into the reef, but it has now turned 90 degrees.

The Navy Times reported that areas of the ship were flooded, and cited the Navy as saying there had been a "slight increase to a port list" Saturday.

Noel Celis / AFP - Getty Images

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire that engulfed a residential area in Manila, Philippines, Jan. 19. Nearly 50 houses were destroyed leaving 100 families homeless.

Noel Celis / AFP - Getty Images

WESCOM via AFP - Getty Images

A photo released on Jan. 18, 2013 by the Philippine Western Command (WESCOM) shows the US Navy minesweeper USS Guardian after it ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef in the western Philippine island of Palawan on Jan. 17.

The crew of a U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground in a protected marine sanctuary off the Philippines was evacuated on Friday as the ship remained stuck on a reef. 

The USS Guardian, an Avenger-class minesweeper, hit the Tubbataha Reef in the Sula Sea at 2:25 a.m. local time Thursday (1:25 p.m. Wednesday ET).

Attempts to free the ship at high tide were not successful, the Navy said in a statement, and all 79 crew members were subsequently transferred to two nearby support vessels.

"Seventh Fleet ships remain on scene and essential Guardian Sailors will continue conducting survey operations onboard the ship as needed until she is recovered," said Vice Adm. Scott Swift, U.S. Seventh Fleet commander. "Several support vessels have arrived and all steps are being taken to minimize environmental effects while ensuring the crew’s continued safety."

The reason for the grounding remains under investigation, the Navy said.

WESCOM via AFP - Getty Images

The minesweeper pictured on Jan. 17, 2013 after it ran aground.

Bullit Marquez / AP

Catholic devotees jostle to get closer to the centuries-old image of the Black Nazarene in a raucous celebration on its feast day Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. The annual procession by hundreds of thousands of devotees is now becoming to be a tourist attraction.

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Ted Aljibe / AFP - Getty Images

Residents rest under an uprooted tree used as temporary shelter in New Bataan, Compostela province on December 12, 2012 nearly one week after the southern part of the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Bopha. The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has climbed above 900 with hundreds more missing, many of them tuna fishermen feared lost at sea, the government said on December 11. Read the full story.

Erik De Castro / Reuters

A man looks for his relatives from lists of missing persons more than one week after Typhoon Bopha hit New Bataan, southern Philippines December 12, 2012.

Erik De Castro / Reuters

A girl and other typhoon victims search for recyclable materials from among the debris at the ruins of a house in the coastal town of Cateel, that was devastated during last Tuesday's Typhoon Bopha in Davao Oriental, southern Philippines on Wednesday.