China offers patrol boat to Sri Lanka.

A vessel taken over from China in a bid to enhance operational capabilities of Sri Lanka Navy arrived on 8 July in Colombo. The official taking over ceremony of ship ‘P625’ was held on June 5 in China, at the Shanghai Dockyard, Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya reports in the Daily Mirror.

P625 patrol boat offered by China arrives at Colombo Port (Picture source: via Daily Mirror)

Navy Commander Vice Admiral Piyal de Silva flanked by senior officers paid an inspection visit onboard and supervised the functional cum operational aspects of the vessel. Built in 1994, the ship is 112 meters in length and 12.4 meters in width. It boasts a displacement capacity of 2,300 tonnes.

“A crew of 18 officers and 92 sailors perform duties in the ship. After the ship is included in the SLN fleet, she will be utilised for patrol and surveillance missions in the deep sea surrounding Mother Lanka. The ship will also be used for search and rescue operations to provide security and assistance to naval and fisheries communities,” the Navy said. Navy said the ship was scheduled to receive its auspicious commissioning in the near future.

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Piyal de Silva, Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenna, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director-General Operations Rear Admiral Niraja Attygalle, Commander Western Naval Area Rear Admiral Sumith Weerasinghe, Military, Naval and Air Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei and a host of senior officers from the Naval Headquarters and Western Naval Command were present on this occasion.