11 June 2016 11:50 am
The Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel, built by the India’s Goa Shipyards Ltd for the Sri Lanka Navy was launched at the Goa Shipyard in Goa on Friday.
The state of the art ship which measures 105m in length and 13.6m in width, will nearly incur USD 74 million when the project is over. The vessel also features a helipad which is capable of landing a helicopter and possesses the displacement capacity of 2350 tons as well. Besides it offers spacious accommodation for the comfort of 18 officers and 100 sailors. Moreover the vessel has an endurance of 4,500 nautical miles in terms of carrying out surveillance operations.
This is the first time in the history Sri Lanka that such a large vessel has been designed for them by a foreign country.
The keel of the first vessel was laid on September 10, 2014 and GLS completed 100% hull construction and launched the vessel within 21 months of keel laying. The vessel is in advanced stages of outfitting and will be ready for delivery by August 2017.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi and Mrs. Wasantha Gunawardena along with Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne attended the event.
Chief guest, secretary to ministry of defence, government of Sri Lanka, Karunasena Hettiarachchi said, "The project not only shows the shipbuilding capabilities of GSL, but also reflects the very strong diplomatic ties between the two countries and brotherly ties between the two Navies and Coast Guards."
The vessel 'Sayural' was launched at the hands of Hettiarachchi's wife M A W P Gunawardana. Till now Sri Lanka bought all its large ships second hand from various countries.