Indian Coast Guard Ship gifts spare parts worth $1.2m to Suraksha

Indian Coast Guard Ship Sachet, an Offshore Patrol Vessel. arrived in Colombo for a two-day visit.

The ship brought essential spare parts worth USD 1.2 million on gratis for Sri Lanka Coast Guard Ship Suraksha.

On arrival, the Commanding Officer of the Indian Coast Guard Ship, Deputy Inspector General R Rajesh Nambiraj, TM, called on the Commander of Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral TSK Perera, and the Director General, Sri Lanka Coast Guard Rear Admiral Pujitha Vilthana.

In a ceremony, the Indian Coast Guard Ship formally handed over the spare parts to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard Ship Suraksha.

The ceremony was graced by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, Secretary of Defence of Sri Lanka, Gen. Kamal Gunaratne(Retd), Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, Commander Western Naval Area Rear Admiral TSK Perera, Director General of Sri Lanka Coast Guard Rear Admiral Pujitha Vithana as well as senior officers from Sri Lanka Coast Guard and Navy.

SLCGS Suraksha is an Offshore Patrol Vessel donated to Sri Lanka by the Government of India in October 2017.

India donated spare parts for the ship in June 2021 and April 2022 and assisted in refilling Halon cylinders in January 2024.

Handing over the large consignment of spares symbolizes India’s commitment to supporting capability building towards addressing the shared challenges of Maritime Security in the region.

It may be recalled that earlier this year, Indian Coast Guard ships Samarth and Abhinav visited Galle and Colombo from Feb. 27 to March 5.

Visits by Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels to Sri Lanka aim to consolidate camaraderie and interoperability between the Navies and Coast Guards, keeping India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.

The ship departed on June 21.