Navy's latest warship reaches Colombo

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Sri Lanka Navy's latest warship the P 627 reached Colombo on Wednesday (2).

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) formally took the delivery of the EX-United States Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC Douglas Munro, provided by the United States (U.S.) Coast Guard to SLN, at theU.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle of Washington in the United States on 26th October 2021.

Since the acquisition, she was designated as P 627, attached to the SLN 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 SLN and 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 the SLN 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, she has been designed for 187 crew members and is equipped with modern weapons and machinery that suit SLN’s operational requirements. 

During her stint with the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship has rendered exceptional service by curbing illegal fishing, illegal immigration and the seizure of a large number 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 about 08 months. 

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

Thus, the ship’s two-month-long 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 10,722 nautical miles (19,857 km) is recorded as the longest-ever sea voyage a naval vessel has ever sailed in SLN history. 

During her long sea passage from Seattle to Colombo, the ship made port calls at Honolulu in Hawaii, Apra in Guam, United States, Manila in Philippine 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. 

Against such a backdrop, the Navy 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. 

Thereby, 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.