South Korea vessel of Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) in Colombo

A large and high-tech ocean Research Vessel (R/V) of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), ‘ISABU’, arrived at the Port of Colombo as the first port of call this week to strengthen maritime cooperation between Korea and Sri Lanka.

The vessel of about 6,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT) class, which is conducting research on the environmental systematics of seafloor hydrothermal vents and associated vent ecosystems in the Central Indian Ridge, will depart from the Port on 19 August 2017 for further research in the Indian Ocean, the South Korean Embassy in Colombo this week.

On the first day of the visit, the research group of the KIOST hosted an onboard dinner for Dr. Anil Premaratne, Chairman and senior researchers of the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA). The next day, the research group was invited to the NARA to further discuss cooperative projects between the two sides.

Meanwhile, the KIOST and the NARA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in March 2016 and jointly made a Project Concept Paper (PCP) to strengthen capacity-building in Ocean Science. Close cooperation between the two parties is expected to further strengthen in the years to come.

Apart from this, the Government of the Republic of Korea is implementing various Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects in the maritime sector in cooperation with its Sri Lankan counterpart, including the establishment project of the Ocean University of Sri Lanka, which has received funds of 50 million and 2.5 million U.S. dollars, by the Korea Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) respectively.