MANILA, Philippines – Preserving the decrepit BRP Sierra Madre and keeping it habitable for a handful of soldiers guarding the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal may be costly, but the stake – the country’s sovereignty – is priceless.

This is according to the Marines assigned to the remote outpost, which of late had been a target of harassment by Chinese vessels enforcing Beijing’s claim over numerous islets, shoals and sandbars in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the former World War II transport ship in 1999 to serve as garrison for troops tasked to guard or defend the country’s maritime borders.

The STAR, which joined resupply and troop rotation operations last March 27 to 31, learned that a small ship traveling to and from the site of the grounded vessel consumes on average 83,000 liters of diesel fuel.

Read more: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/04/03/1308157/phl-navy-ready-pay-price-maintaining-ghost-ship