( CNN ) -- Removing a stranded U.S. minesweeper from an environmentally delicate reef off the Philippines may take until April , the state-run Philippines News Agency reported Wednesday , citing the Philippines Coast Guard . The U.S. Navy is preparing to extract the USS Guardian from the Tubbataha Reef , a Philippine national park and UNESCO World Heritage site where the 224-foot-long ship ran aground on January 17 . The Navy plans to cut the 1,312-ton minesweeper into pieces and then , with the help of two contracted crane ships , lift the pieces and carry them away . Philippines Coast Guard Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena said Wednesday that he hopes the salvaging will begin soon so that further damage to the reef will be limited , the Philippines News Agency said . One of the crane ships has arrived in the area , about 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island in the Sulu Sea , and the other is on its way , the news agency reported . Navy spokesman : Reef 's location misplaced on chart . The ship is estimated to have damaged about 4,000 square meters ( about 43,000 square feet ) of the reef , the news agency said . Various U.S. officials , including Navy Vice Adm. Scott Swift last month , have apologized to the Philippines for the incident , which the U.S. Navy and the Philippines Coast Guard are investigating . Philippine officials said last month that the country would seek compensation for reef damage . The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines , Harry Thomas Jr. , assured the Philippines on Monday that the United States `` will provide appropriate compensation for damage to the reef caused by the ship . '' The reef is home to a vast array of sea , air and land creatures , as well as sizable lagoons and two coral islands . About 500 species of fish and 350 species of coral can be found there , as can whales , dolphins , sharks , turtles and breeding seabirds , according to UNESCO . Originally , only the ship 's bow was on the reef , but waves pushed the entire ship onto it . The ship 's wood-and-fiberglass hull was penetrated , allowing a significant amount of water into the ship , the Navy said . Crews have been working to remove hazardous materials from the vessel and anything that could still be useful to the Navy . The Navy has reported no oil slicks ; the ship 's 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel have been removed . One of the environmental concerns is that algae will grow on dead or scarred corals , park Superintendent Angelique Songco said . `` Their presence makes it hard for other corals to regenerate as they cover the substrate , '' Songco wrote in an e-mail to CNN on Wednesday . `` We expect an increase in the incidence of grazer fish species in the area that feed on the algae . Hopefully they are hungry enough to control algae populations to enable hard corals ( to ) take root in the substrate . `` So you see , the balance we have been trying to maintain has been upset . For that particular area at least , coral evolution starts all over again -- but not until salvage operations are over . '' The salvage operation also may hurt tourism , because it will happen at the start of the park 's main tourism window of March to early June , Songco said . Songco said she has n't heard of any pre-booked tourists canceling . But the park , which is celebrating its 25th year , will have to close two of its 15 major diving sites during the operation , she said . `` We will not ( be ) able to offer divers the full measure of the Tubbataha experience , '' she said . CNN 's Brad Lendon contributed to this report .
The USS Guardian ran aground on a reef off the Philippines on January 17 . The U.S. Navy plans to cut the ship into pieces , then haul them away . The Navy is awaiting the arrival of a crane ship . Hide Caption