Sri Lanka Navy Ship from US Coast Guard arrives at Colombo

The Sri Lankan Navy officially received the newest ship to its fleet from the United
States Coast Guard at the US Coast Guard Base in Seattle, USA which arrived in
Colombo on November 2nd after a 2-month home journey.

The ship, a US Coast Guard Cutter previously named USCGC Douglas Munro, was
designated as P 627 upon reception by the Sri Lanka Navy. It is the second Hamilton
Class High endurance Cutter received by the Sri Lankan Navy and measures 115m in
length with the capability of reaching 29 knots with 14000 nautical miles of endurance at
cruising speed and a crew capacity of 187.

The Ship departed from the Port of Seattle after a 10 month-period of training for the
initial crew of 130 from the Sri Lankan Navy, and made port calls in Guam, Hawaii, the
Philippines, and Singapore for supplies.

 Commanding Officer of the P 627, Captain
Lanka Dissanayake explained that the journey of 10,656 nautical miles (19. 734 km)
from Seattle to Colombo is the longest sea voyage sailed by a ship of the Sri Lankan
Navy.

The ship is equipped with modern weapons and machinery and was used by the US
Coast Guard to curb illegal fishing and prevent the transportation of narcotics. The Navy
plans on using the ship in wide-ranging operations including the conservation of marine
resources as well as search and rescue missions of naval and fishing communities in
distress, where the P 627’s technology and capabilities will be useful in achieving its
national aspirations effectively.

Sadisha Saparamadu