News
Unscathed troopship sails into the sunset
The Jetliner vessel operated by the Navy since 2006 will make its final voyage out of the country early today after more than six years of active service both during and after the Eelam war, senior naval officials said.
The vessel was leased from an Indonesian company during the height of fighting between the security forces and the Tamil Tigers and was used affectively to transport troops to and from the operational areas in the North along with essential supplies, they said.
The vessel was able to carry a capacity load of 3,000 personnel plus supplies.The vessel was based at Trincomalee and made three runs per week to the Kankesanturai (KKS) port covering more that 150 nautical miles, braving the threat from the Sea Tiger suicide squads which were active in the region, the officials added.
They said that with the end of the fighting in 2009 the Jetliner was pressed into more domestic service and was used as an attraction for locals and even hosted conferences and other social events.
On more than one occasion the vessel came close to destruction by the Sea Tiger suicide squads while loaded with hundreds of troops being ferried to the operational areas but each time it managed to survive following the intervention and protection of Navy escort boats.
The reason to send back the boat is not clear but according to sources it was due to high maintenance costs. The sources did not elaborate.
The vessel left the Colombo Port sometime during the early hours of this morning, according to officials.
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