Commander of the Navy visits Japanese Ship Suzunami
 

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne visited Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) Ship “ JS Suzunami (DD-114)”, in the port of Colombo today (12).

The Commander of the Navy was ceremonially welcomed by the Commanding Officer of the Japanese Ship “Suzunami” and was accorded with a Guard of Honour onboard the ship. The Navy Commander was then taken a tour onboard the ship and explained the task and role played by “JS Suzunami.”

During the cordial discussions held onboard, Head of the Mission of the Commander Escort Division III, Captain Takashi Yoshioka explained the tasks performed by the Japanese Ships off the Somali seas, latest trends related to piracy activities in the region and the nature of merchant vessel escort duties. Commanding Officer of “JS Suzunami” Commander Masanori Amemiya gave an outline of the duties performed by the JMSDF and their interaction with the Japanese Coast Guard.

“JS Suzunami” and “JS Makinami”, the visiting two ships are returning from their tour of duty off the seas of Somalia. The JMSDF together with many other nations are currently dispatching warships to the seas around Somalia, and are conducting piracy countermeasures through international cooperation.

Sri Lanka Navy has increased cooperation with the JMSDF in the recent past through regular joint exercises whenever Japanese ships visit port of Colombo. Arrangements have been also finalized to conduct a Search and Rescue exercise (SAREX) with two JMSDF P-3C maritime surveillance air craft on 10th May 2016 with the participation of Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Coast Guard personnel.

The JMSDF ships have visited port of Colombo on a regular basis and these two ships mark the 58th visit of Japanese ships to Sri Lanka.

Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Sirimewan Ranasinghe, Director General Operations, Rear Admiral Daramendra Wettewa, Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Jayantha de Silva, Director Naval Operations, Commodore Kalana Jinadasa, and Defence Attaché of the Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka, Captain Mototsugu Shigekawa were also present on the occasion.