The Sri Lanka Coast Guard is a Sri Lankannon-ministerial government department tasked with coast guard duties within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. It comes under the purview of the Ministry of Defence and is staffed by civilian personnel. The current Director General of the SLCG is Rear Admiral Samantha Wimalathunga. 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 approved a paper appointing a retired Naval officer, Lieutenant commander 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. Six small vessels for the SLCG were launched at the fishery harbour in Beruwala: Coast Guard Vessel Mahiraja was put in charge of search and rescue, 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 President Mahinda Rajapaksa 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 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 forming a partnership with the SLCG in 2016 to secure trade routes in the Indian Ocean, 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 vessels from Colombo Dockyard 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 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,
Cooperate with law enforcement and the armed forces 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 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,
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.
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 to researchers in the field.
Rank structure
The Sri Lanka Coast Guard's rank structure closely follows that of the Navy.
Commissioned officer ranks
Other ranks
Equipment
Current vessels
Vessels belonging to the Sri Lankan Coast Guard bear the prefix "CG".
