From Ben Brumfield and Barbara Starr, CNN July 22, 2013 -- Updated 0057 GMT (0857 HKT) The Great Barrier Reef is composed of more than 3,000 individual reefs interspersed with more than 600 islands. NEW: Official: The Navy is looking at how it can get the bombs out Report: An Australian lawmaker calls the action "outrageous" (CNN) -- Two U.S. military aircraft jettisoned four bombs near the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast last week, the U.S. Navy says. Now, the Navy is looking at how it can get the bombs out, a U.S. Navy official who declined to be identified told CNN. The two Marine planes abandoned the bombs Tuesday in the national park containing the natural wonder because they were running out of fuel and could not land with the amount of ordnance on board, the Navy said. The jettison box was selected in a deep channel away from the reef to minimize the possibility of reef damage. However the inert and unexploded ordnance is inside the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area," the Navy official said. The Navy knows full well how environmentally sensitive the Great Barrier Reef is, and will do everything to make this right. Reports of the incident drew swift condemnation from one Australian lawmaker, who told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the situation was "outrageous." "I think it's outrageous that we're letting the U.S. military drop bombs on the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef," said Greens Sen. Larissa Waters, according to an article on the Australian network's website. I mean have we gone completely mad? Is this how we look after our World Heritage area now? Letting a foreign power drop bombs on it? Great Barrier Reef found to have thriving deep water coral CNN's Zarifmo Aslamshoyeva and Larry Register contributed to this report.