Quote:
The US Navy says it may try to salvage four unarmed bombs dropped by fighter jets into Australia's Great Barrier Reef marine park last week when a training exercise went wrong.
The two AV-8B Harrier jets, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard, each jettisoned an inert practice bomb and an unarmed laser-guided explosive bomb into the World Heritage-listed marine park off the coast of Queensland on Tuesday, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement on Saturday.
The four bombs, weighing a total 1.8 metric tons (4,000 pounds), were dropped into more than 50 metres (164ft) of water, away from coral, to minimise possible damage to the reef, the statement said. None exploded.
The Great Barrier Reef marine park authority said in a statement that identifying options for the "rapid recovery" of the bombs so that they could pose no risk to the marine park was "a high priority". But the authority also said the ordnances posed a "low risk to the marine environment".
US 7th Fleet spokesman Lieutenant David Levy said on Monday the Navy was reviewing the possibility of retrieving the ordnances in consultation with Australian authorities.
"If the park service and the government agencies of Australia determine that they want those recovered, then we will co-ordinate with them on that recovery process," Levy said in an email.
The jets, from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, had intended to drop the ordnances on the Townshend Island bombing range, but aborted the mission when controllers reported the area was not clear of hazards.
"It was not safe to drop the bombs. There were civilian boats right below them," fleet commander William Marks told Australian ABC radio on Monday.
The pilots conducted the emergency jettison because they were low on fuel and could not land with their bomb load, the Navy said.
"The Harriers... needed to get back to the ship, and so they conducted an emergency jettison," Marks said.
So, my question goes back my original premise, why wasn't the area clear? Your country knew what was going on, why didn't they clear the area of civilian boats?