PCG: 10 March 2017 – The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications, and Search and Rescue (NCSR) approved the Philippine proposal to establish the entire Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) in the Sulu Sea as an Area to be Avoided (ATBA) in order to protect its fragile marine environment.

With the ATBA as the sole Associated Protective Measure (APM) over the TRNP, ship Masters sailing through the Sulu Sea will be guided to plot a course that prevent them from entering the Tubbataha Reefs and thereby reduce, if not eliminate, the risk of accidental ship grounding in the said area. 

The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site is designated as a national Marine Protected Area through Republic Act No. 10067 (known as the TRNP Act of 2009) enacted by the Philippine Congress to provide the national legal and institutional framework for the protection of the Tubbataha Reefs. The statute defines the TRNP boundaries, establishes the basic rules for the management of the TRNP, and provides for the authority of the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board to manage the TRNP.