(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The second Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) of Sri Lanka Navy, built at the Indian shipbuilding facility – Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) received its graceful commissioning from the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Eastern Container Terminal of the port of Colombo yesterday (19 April 2018) at 5.30 p.m.
Upon the arrival of the Prime Minister, the Chief Guest of the occasion, at the Eastern Container Terminal, he was accorded a Guard of Honour in accordance with naval traditions. Subsequently the Prime Minister reviewed the Guard of Honour before handing over the Commissioning Warrant to the inaugural Commanding Officer of the ship, Captain Samantha Perera. Thereupon, the Commanding Officer read out the Commissioning Warrant pledging his bounden duty in safeguarding the interests of the nation with full of respect and honour. Afterwards, the Hon. Prime Minister 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) Sindurala.
Further, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe together with distinguished guests got onboard to 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. This AOPV which is the second vessel of its kind possessed by the Sri Lanka Navy will be manned by 18 officers and 100 sailors. The length and the width of the latest platform are measured to be 105.7m and 13.6m respectively and it is provided with a landing facility and hangar for Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
Religious dignitaries including the Venerable Maha Sangha, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Agriculture Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, State Minister of Defence Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Mr. Kapila Waidyaratne P.C., High Commissioner of India in Colombo, His Excellency Mr. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director General Operations, Rear Admiral Piyal De Silva and officers of Goa Shipyard Ltd were also present on this grand occasion.
Apart from that the ceremony also saw the graceful presence of the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy, Former Navy Commanders, senior officers from the tri forces and Police and a host of distinguished invitees.
