Indian gifts spare parts worth Rs. 120 m for Coast Guard vessel

The Government of India yesterday (29 June) gifted machinery parts valued at Rs. 120 million to augment maintenance capability of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard vessel, ‘SLCGS Suraksha’.

The latest Indo-Lanka defence cooperation initiative comes a week after the fifth annual high-level meeting between the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG), was held virtually.

According to the Indian High Commission in Colombo, 650 machinery parts, including a shaft and gearbox, will enable the SLCG to facilitate repairs, improve seagoing capability and increase the overall life cycle of the ship.

The SLCGS Suraksha, a Vikram Class vessel (formally ‘ICGS Varuna’), is the only offshore patrol vessel (OPV) in the Coast Guard fleet. It was gifted to Sri Lanka by India in 2017. The ICG and SLCG also signed a MoU between both coast guards in 2018 to improve cooperation and coordination between the two agencies.

The spare parts were handed over to the SLCG Director-General Rear Admiral Aruna Ekanayake by the Deputy High Commissioner of India Vinod Jacob. The ICG worked closely with the SLCG, Sri Lanka Navy and other partners in responding to the tanker fire onboard MT New Diamond (2020) and to douse the fire aboard MV X-Press Pearl, last month.

The transfer of parts of SLCGS Suraksha is “in line with India’s Vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy” the Indian High Commission said in a press release.

The SLCG has sorted funding from the Government to expand its fleet of law enforcement vessels by acquiring better pollution control and fire-fighting capability in the aftermath of the MT New Diamond and MV X-Press Pearl incidents around Sri Lanka.