HE the President commissions new AOPV of SL Navy on ceremonial note
 

The Sri Lanka Navy’s first Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV), built at the Indian shipbuilding facility, Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL), was commissioned in a graceful ceremony by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, at the Eastern Container Terminal, port of Colombo today (August, 02) at 4.00 PM.

Religious dignitaries including the Venerable Maha Sangha, Ministers, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Mr. Kapila Waidyaratne, Secretary Defence Production India, Mr. Shri Ashok Kumar Guptha, Chairman and Managing Director of the Goa Shipyard Limited, Rear Admiral (Retd) Shekhar Mital, Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne were present on the occasion.

Further, this memorable event was attended by Flag Officer Commander in Chief Southern Naval Command-Indian Navy, Vice Admiral AR Karve, Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Air Force Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy, Inspector General of Police, Mr. Pujith Jayasundara, Former Navy Commanders, senior officers from tri forces and Police and a host of distinguished invitees.

Upon the arrival of His Excellency the President at the Eastern Container Terminal, he was accorded with a guard of honour in accordance with naval formalities. Subsequently, the ceremony saw the Commanding Officer of the ship, Captain (N) Nishantha Amarosa receiving the commissioning warrant from the President after the review of the Guard of Honour. Thereupon, the Commanding Officer of the ship read out the Commissioning Warrant pledging his bounden duty in safeguarding the interests of the nation with full of respect and honour. Afterwards, His Excellency the President flanked by the Commander of the Navy, got onboard ship and unveiled the ship’s crest and name board among the blessings of religious dignitaries, to designate the new AOPV as Sri Lanka Navy Ship (SLNS) Sayurala.

Further, the President together with distinguished guests also went onto inspect the facilities and instrument fitted onboard this state of the art vessel and he was briefed on the advanced technological instrument of the ship by Commander of the Navy. The Navy also displayed HE the President its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) capabilities executed by means of naval personnel, Marines, Divers, Special Forces, medical teams, mobile kitchen, pumps, boats and vehicles.

Meanwhile, Most Venerable Vendaruwe Dharmakeerthi Sri Rathanapala Upali Abhidhana Anunayake thero, Most Venerable Mahanayake Ahungalle Siri Seela Visuddhi Maha thero from Amarapura Sri Saddhamma Wansha Maha Nikaya, the Chief Prelate of Nagadeepa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya and Chief Sanghanayaka of Northern Province, Praveenacharya Dharma Keerthi Sri Ven. Navadagala Padumakiththi Tissa thero, Adhikarana Sangha Nayaka of the Colombo Nava Koralaya, Venerable Diviyagaha Yassassi thero, Venerable Pallegama Rathanasara thero of Gangaramaya, Venerable Palatuve Jinarathana thero of Gangaramaya, His Lordship Dr. Emmanuel Fernando, Poosari, Sri S.S. Sambuseewam Kurukkal and Al Haj Quari Moulavi, M Faizal Hassen conducted religious formalities invoking blessings on SLNS Sayurala.

SLNS Sayurala turned out to be the first ever brand new platform, purchased from a foreign ship builder, tailored for the specific requirements of the Sri Lanka Navy. Further, it holds the record for the largest vessel built by an Indian shipbuilder for a foreign navy to date. The brand new state of the art AOPV arrived at the port of Colombo on 28th July.

She is expected to conduct patrols, policing, reconnaissance, surveillance, search and rescue, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and pollution control missions in Sri Lanka's maritime zones. Moreover, it can also be used for external fire-fighting missions.

Built to the standards of Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Sayurala features a range of modern facilities and advanced technological instrument. The length and the width of the ship are measured to be 105.7m and 13.6m respectively. The new platform which has a draught (hull) of 5m is capable of achieving the maximum speed of 26 knots and cruising speed of 12-14 knots. Moreover, it has a displacement of 2,350 tons.

This AOPV which is the first of its kind possessed by the Sri Lanka Navy, will be manned by 18 officers and 100 sailors. Further, Sayurala could bear the endurance of 7,000 nm at a cruising speed of 12 to 14 knots and is provided with a landing facility and hangar for Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). Apart from that, a Multi-barrel Rocket Launch (MBRL) system would also be installed onboard in a bid to deliver superior combat performance, in due course. Meanwhile the twin sister of this Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel is also expected to join the SLN fleet in the next year.

The Navy had conspicuously envisaged its future role as the sea-going arm is bound to protect the Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nm and staggering Search and Rescue region of 1,738,062.24 km2 in due course. The acquisition of large scale ships and craft with technologically advanced systems is extremely vital for the Sri Lanka Navy as it is aspiring to become a force that has the capability to venture out to the deep blue seas. The vision of empowering the Navy with 20 ships by 2025 has been clearly defined in the ‘Sri Lanka Navy’s Maritime Strategy 2025’. Accordingly, SLNS Sayurala will be the first of the 20 ships to join the SLN fleet in keeping with that visionary concept of Commander of the Navy.