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The Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෙරළාරක්ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, Śrī Laṃkā veralārakshaka depārtamēntuwa; ta, இலங்கை கடலோர பாதுகாப்பு) is a
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n
non-ministerial government department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of department of the United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political oversight has been judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by senior civil s ...
tasked with
coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
duties within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. It comes under the purview of the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
and its members are all naval personnel. The current Director General of the SLCG is
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...
Pujitha Vithana Initially established in the late 1990s, the department was disbanded in 2002, with responsibilities passing to the Coast Conservation Department. The department in its current form was reestablished through the Department of Coast Guard Act, No. 41 of 2009 and inaugurated on 4 March 2010. It is a non-military law enforcement agency at sea, with every officer regarded as a peace officer for the purposes of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979. The department has legal authority to search and arrest ships, craft and personnel engaged in illegal activity in maritime zones and the territorial waters of Sri Lanka, and to initiate legal proceedings against offenders.


History

The Sri Lanka Coast Guard was first established in 1999, when 75 servicepersons were recruited Officers, Sergeants and Mariners; at the same time, construction of vessels for the coast guard began at the Neil Marine and Ceynor boatyards. On 1 August of the following year, the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
approved a paper appointing a retired Naval officer,
Lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
C. R. Bulegoda Arachchi, as head of the Coast Guard. The government then began drafting the Sri Lanka Coast Guard Act based on counterparts from other nations in the region. 2001 saw the basic training of Coast Guard personnel begin at the navy's base at Welisara, SLNS Gemunu; professional training took place at the Japanese Coast Guard Training Center in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
. Six small vessels for the SLCG were launched at the fishery harbour in
Beruwala Beruwala ( Sinhala:බේරුවල Tamil: பேருவளை) is a large town in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The town covers a total area of approximately and is located on the south-west ...
: Coast Guard Vessel ''Mahiraja'' was put in charge of
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
, CGVs ''Ruhunu'' and ''Maya'' were assigned to the protection of coastal fisheries, and CGVs ''Kadira'', ''Giruvaya'' and ''Maagama'' were placed on general duty. Less than a year later, on 31 March 2002, the newly elected government decided to abolish the department, transferring all assets and personnel to the Coast Conservation Department. In 2009, the
Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
President
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
presented a cabinet paper suggesting the reestablishment of the Coast Guard, leading to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard Coast Guard Act, No. 41 of 2009 being enacted by
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
on 9 July 2009. The SLCG was thus reestablished in its current form seven years after its initial disbanding. Recent developments have largely been centered on expansion of operational capabilities, with
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
forming a partnership with the SLCG in 2016 to secure trade routes in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
, particularly those used by oil tankers from the Middle East. As part of this partnership, Japan provided funds for patrol ships. The Sri Lankan Government also placed a $180 million order for three 85-meter
offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and th ...
s from
Colombo Dockyard Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) is a shipbuilding company in Sri Lanka and is based in Colombo. It has built both military and civilian vessels for both local and overseas clients. History Colombo Dockyard established its operations in 1974 and is o ...
in 2017, capable of both deep- and shallow water operations.


Role and responsibilities

Part II of the Coast Guard Act lists the following as functions of the SLCG: *Prevent
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes p ...
in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and protect fishermen, rendering whatever assistance is needed at sea, *Assist the Sri Lanka Customs and other authorities to combat anti-smuggling and anti-immigration operations, *Prevent and manage
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
, *Cooperate with
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
and the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
in anti-terror measures in the maritime zones and territorial waters of the country, *Prevent the cross-border movement of narcotics by sea, *Assist in ensuring the safety of life and property at sea, *Participate in search and rescue operations in times of natural catastrophe and assist in salvage operations after such catastrophes and other accidents at sea, *Assist in the preservation and protection of the maritime and marine environment, including the implementation and monitoring of measures required for the prevention and control of
marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there. The major ...
and other disasters which occur at sea, and in the conservation of marine species, *Disseminate information including warnings by radio or any other means in times of natural catastrophes, and *Perform any additional/auxiliary functions that may be temporarily assigned to it by the State. In order to carry out these functions, the Coast Guard is given the authority to: *Stop, enter, board, inspect and search any place, structure, vessel or aircraft and arrest and detain any such vessel or aircraft, *Demand, make copies- or take extracts of any license, permit, record, certificate or any other document for inspection, *Investigate any offence which it has reason to believe is being committed or is about to be committed or has been committed, *Exercise the right of hot pursuit, *Examine and seize or dispose of any fish or any article, device, goods, vessel, aircraft or any other item relating to any offence which has been committed or it has reasonable grounds to believe that such offence has been committed, and *Arrest any person whom it has reason to believe has committed an offence under any written law of Sri Lanka currently in force.


Deployment

The Coast Guard have a base or outpost in Mirissa (coast guard headquarters), Mirissa (regional headquarters- South), Dikovita,
Dehiwala Dehiwala is a suburban area in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies within the administrative boundaries of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. It is known for the zoo which houses thousands of animals and hundreds of species. 2019 Easter Sunday a ...
,
Mount Lavinia Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia ( si, දෙහිවල-ගල්කිස්ස, translit=Dehivala-Galkissa; ta, தெஹிவளை-கல்கிசை, translit=Tehivaḷai-Kalkicai), population 245,974 (2012) is the largest suburb of the City of ...
,
Panadura Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in Kalutara District, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo and is surrounded on ...
, Beruwala,
Aluthgama Aluthgama ( si, අලුත්ගම, translit=Alutgama; ta, அளுத்கமை, translit=Aḷutkamai) is a coastal town in Kalutara District in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. ...
,
Balapitiya Balapitiya is a coastal town, in south west Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province in Sri Lanka. Situated south of Colombo, about a two-hour drive from the capital. It is the nearest town to the Maduganga River. Populated pla ...
,
Ambalangoda Ambalangoda is a coastal town located in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Governed by Ambalangoda Urban Council, the town is famous for its ancient demon masks and devil dancers. Situated approximately south of Colombo, it sits ...
,
Kirinda Kirinda is a town in Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya Distr ...
and
Kankasanturai Kankesanthurai (, , lit. ''Port Kankesan''), colloquially known as KKS, is a port suburb, fishing division and resort hub of the Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Formerly an electoral district, Kankesanthurai is home to the Kankesan ...
(regional headquarters- North). Some of these, particularly those in areas frequented by tourists, also function as lifeguard posts; the SLCG has lifeguard posts at: *
Galle Face Galle Face is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although t ...
*Wellawatta *Mount Lavinia *Panadura *Aluthgama *Balapitiya *Mirissa *Polhena-Matara *Kirinda *
Nilaveli Nilaveli ( ta, நிலாவெளி, translit=Nilāveḷi; si, නිල්වැල්ල, translit=Nilvælla) is a coastal resort town and suburb of the Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka located 16 km northwest of the city of Trincomale ...
(2 points) *Dehiwala The SLCG base at Balapitiya hosts a training center that conducts professional- and lifesaving training to its servicepersons. Mirissa hosts the Coast Guard Turtle Conservation Project, launched in September 2012. Aiming to preserve the country's sea turtle population and raise awareness of their conservation, it also supplies scientific data related to turtle behaviour (nesting, hatchlings, feeding, mating) to researchers in the field. Image:, Lifesaving post, Balapitiya Image:Wellawatta.jpg, Lifesaving post, Wellawatta Image:Slcg001.jpg, Turtle conservation project


Rank structure

The Sri Lanka Coast Guard's rank structure closely follows that of the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
. ;Commissioned officer ranks ;Other ranks


Equipment


Current vessels

Vessels belonging to the Sri Lankan Coast Guard bear the prefix "CG".


References

{{Coast guards Coast guards C Law enforcement agencies of Sri Lanka