Offshore patrol vessel donated by US arrives in Colombo

Former US Coast Guard Cutter, P-627 which was donated to Sri Lanka Navy by the U.S. government arrived at Colombo Port this morning (Nov. 02).

The vessel will enhance Sri Lanka’s maritime sovereignty and support shared security goals, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo stated.

The offshore patrol vessel had set sail for Colombo from Seattle, United States on September 03, 2022.

After having called at the Port of Manila in the Philippines, P-627 began the home-bound journey from there on October 16. Having covered a passage of about 1393 nautical miles (2580 km), the vessel arrived at the Port of Changi in Singapore on October 22 for replenishment and services.

Sri Lanka Navy formally took the delivery of former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC Douglas Munro, provided by the U.S. Coast Guard on October 26, 2022, at the U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle of Washington. Since the acquisition, the vessel was designated as P-627, attached to Sri Lanka naval fleet.

Aiming to strengthen and develop partnerships to overcome common challenges in the maritime domain, U.S. Coast Guard has previously provided two ships - SLNS ‘Samudura’ (P 621) in 2005 and SLNS ‘Gajabahu’( P 626) in 2018 to Sri Lanka Navy.

They are now playing a prominent role, keeping the island waters safe and secure. As an extension of partnership ties that bring value to each other’s service, Ex-USCGC Douglas Munro was transferred as the third ship to be handed to SLN.

P-627, the second ‘Hamilton Class- High Endurance Cutter’ received by Sri Lanka Navy, measures 115m in length and is capable of reaching the maximum speed of 29 knots with 14000 nautical miles of endurance at cruising speed.

Further, the vessel has been designed for 187 crew members and is equipped with modern weapons and machinery that suit Sri Lanka Navy’s operational requirements.

During its stint with the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship has rendered an exceptional service by curbing illegal fishing, illegal immigration and seizure of a large quantity of narcotics in U.S. waters.

Upon taking over the ship, the initial crew (130 naval personnel), under the supervision of the Commanding Officer of P-627, underwent training and engaged in acquisition formalities, maintenance, scheduled repairs and installations to suit the operational needs of the Sri Lanka Navy, for nearly 10 months.

Soon after the training and modernization work, P-627 began her home-bound journey on 03rd September 2022.

Thus, the ship’s two-month-Iong home journey from the Port of Seattle, across the Pacific and Indian oceans, came to an end with her arrival at the Port of Colombo on 02nd November 2022. The journey of 10,656 nautical miles (19,734 km) is recorded as the longest-ever sea voyage a naval vessel has ever sailed in the history of Sri Lanka Navy.

During its long sea passage from Seattle to Colombo, the ship made port calls at Honolulu in Hawaii, Apra in Guam, United States, Manila in the Philippines and Changi Naval Harbour in Singapore for replenishment and services.

Sri Lanka inherits an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that is seven times larger than the landmass. In such a backdrop, the Sri Lanka Navy said it is determined to deploy this vessel in wide-ranging operations that include the conservation of marine resources in the region as well as search and rescue of naval and-fishing communities in distress. Accordingly, the Navy will be able to utilize this vessel efficiently in the future to achieve national aspirations, while making safe and secure seas for all economic affairs.