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:

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.

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.