Ex-US Coast Guard cutter arrives in Sri Lanka

An ex-US Coast Guard (USCG) Hamilton-class cutter acquired by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) arrived at the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on 12 May, approximately eight months after the vessel was formally transferred to the service.

Ex-USCG Hamilton-class cutter Sherman, which was handed over to the SLN in August 2018, arrived at the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on 12 May. (SLN)

The SLN, which is expected to commission the high-endurance cutter (formerly known as USCGC Sherman ) “in the near future”, said in a statement that it had received the vessel, which now has pennant number P626, as a gift from the United States in a ceremony held in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 27 August 2018.

The SLN also pointed out that the 155.2 m-long vessel, which is to become the largest ship in the Sri Lankan fleet, is expected to “increase the operational capability of the island’s sea arm”, and be used for “patrol and surveillance missions in the deep seas around Sri Lanka, providing the maritime security and assistance to search-and-rescue operations”.

The vessel, which will have a crew of 133 (including 22 officers), has been equipped with “state-of-the-art weapons and machinery”, added the SLN, without providing further details.

In an August 2018 statement, the US Embassy in Colombo had said that Sri Lanka’s acquisition of the cutter, which was decommissioned by the USCG in March 2018, would strengthen bilateral defence co-operation and increase interoperability between the navies of the two countries.

The ship is expected to increase the South Asian country’s ability to patrol its Exclusive Economic Zone, “providing additional security for ships from all nations that transit the busy sea lanes of the Indian Ocean”, according to the US Embassy statement.