SLNS ''Sagarawardena'' (P-602) (''Sagarawardena'', in Sinhalese: Sea advancer) was an

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 ...

(OPV) of the

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

. It was the second ship of the locally built ''Jayasagara'' class. The ship was sunk in 1994 when it was hit by two suicide crafts of the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...

whilst on routine patrol off the coast of

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district ** Mannar Bridge, a bridge conne ...

Operations

''Sagarawardena'' was the second ship of the ''Jayasagara'' class to join the Sri Lanka Navy and was assigned duty of offshore patrols to counter arms smuggling in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. On September 20, 1994 she sailed from

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

along the coast of Mannar on patrol with

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Ajith Boyagoda as captain and a crew of 42 officers and men. It was tasked with monitoring LTTE communications during patrol. Around 11.55 pm ''Sagarawardena'' was attacked by a large group of LTTE boats with two explosive laden suicide crafts ramming into the ship, exploding on impact. Following the two initial explosions the ship began to sink. Of the crew of 43 there were 18 survivors including its captain Commander Ajith Boyagoda, who was captured along with another crewmen by the LTTE.A lifeline to the outside world
/ref> Until his release in 2002 Boyagoda would be the most senior officer in LTTE detention. At the time of its sinking it was the largest ship in the Sri Lankan navy and its sister ship was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the fleet.

References

External links

Sri Lanka Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samudura (P-602) Jayasagara-class patrol vessels of the Sri Lanka Navy 1983 ships Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Ships built in Colombo Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean Maritime incidents in 1994 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks against ships